Apbil 1, 1899.] 



KNOWLEDGE 



73 





iTERAT 



Founded by RICHARD A. PROCTOR. 



LONDON: APBIL 1, 1899. 



CONTENTS. 



On the Treatment and Utilization of Anthropological 

 Data.— II. The Hair. By Aeihcb Thomson, 5r. a., ir.B. 



(Illustrated) ' 



The Love-Gifts of Birds. By Chables A. Witchkll 

 The Acetylene Industry. By Geoege T. Hollowat, 



ASSOC.E.COLL.SC. r.I.C. 



Secrets of the Earths Crust.— II. 

 of the Globe. By Gekktilib 



F.S.S. {Ilhistrated) ... 



Notices of Books 



Books Eeceited 



Science Notes ._ 



The Oldest Fauna 



.A.. J. COLB, iI.B I.A., 



British Ornithological Notes. 



WlIHEBBT, F.Z.S., il.B.O.U. ... 



Conducted by Habby F. 



Letter; Jos. F. Gbben 



Obituary 



A New Form of Photographic Telescope 



Wide Angle Photography in Astronomy. By E. AVaitee 



JlAryDEB. r.E.i.s. (Illustrated and Plate) 

 The Karkinokosm, or World of Crustacea,— VIII. The 



Door-Shell Crustacea or Ringlet-Feet. By the Rev. 



Thomas R. E. SiSBBtsG, m.a., i.b.s., p.l.s., f.z.s. 



(Illustratei) 

 Customs of Shakespeare's Greenwood. By Geoboe 



MOELET ... 



Microscopy. By Jony H. Cooke, f.l.s., f.o.s. 



Notes on Comets and Meteors. By W. F. Dexniso, 



F.B.A.S 



The Face of the Sky for April. By A. Fowleb, f.b.a.s. 

 Chess Column. By C. D. Locock, b.a. 



73 



76 



79 

 81 

 83 

 S3 



84 

 84 

 85 

 85 



86 



90 

 92 



93 

 94 

 93 



ON THE TREATMENT AND UTILIZATION OF 

 ANTHROPOLOGICAL DATA. 



By Arthur Thosison, m.a., m.b. 

 II.— THE HAIR. 



IN a previous article we dealt with the question of 

 colour. We propose in the present chapter to take up 

 the consideration of hair. It is a matter of diffi- 

 culty to explain how man came to lose the covering 

 of body hair with which he seems at one time to 

 have been clothed. Most of us fail to recognize the fact 

 that, covering almost the entire surface of the face and 

 body, there is a scanty " down," so slightly developed, 

 however, that it escapes our notice unless our attention be 

 particularly directed to it. Yet it is remarkable that this 

 hairy covering is better seen, and more uniformly distributed 

 over the surface of our bodies at the time of our birth than 

 in after years. The significance of this " lanugo," as it is 

 called, is important, as it serves to indicate that during 

 his development man passes through a stage in which his 

 hairy covering is relatively better developed than at a Jater 

 period of his growth. After birth we find that the hair 



covering the scalp continues to grow, whilst that covering 

 the body undergoes regressive changes, and is represented 

 in the adult by the " down " above referred to, the survival 

 doubtless of a state in which our bodies were better pro- 

 tected in this respect. Much may be learned from a study 

 of this fQ?tal hair. The manner in which the hair is im- 

 planted in the skin serves to indicate the habitual position 

 in which the part so covered is exposed. To render this 

 clear, it may be necessary to remind the reader that hair 

 is a protective covering, which shields the animal from the 

 inclemency of the weather, acting in some respects like 

 thatch to carry off moisture falling on the surface of 

 the body. We find, therefore, that in the more exposed 

 situations the hair is directed downwards. Now, by a 

 comparison of the manner in which the hair is implanted 

 in man as contrasted with animals, we may obtain some 

 hints as to differences in the habitual posture of the body 

 and the disposition of the limbs. 



What, perhaps, strikes us as most remarkable, is that in 

 man the body hair is more scantily developed over the back 

 of the body than over the front of the trunk. We see this 

 particularly in those who, in adult life, develop a strong 

 growth of body hair. The anterior surface of the trunk, 

 thigh, and legs is usually covered with a stronger growth 

 than the posterior surface of these same regions. Xow 

 this is in striking contrast with what we see in mammals 

 as a rule ; in them the growth of fur over the under surface 

 of the trunk and the inner sides of the limbs is much more 

 sparse than over the more exposed surfaces of the back and 

 the outer aspects of the Umbs. From this we may infer 

 that man retained his hairy covering for some time after 

 he assumed the erect posture, and that that growth was 

 thickest over the most exposed surface of the body. We 

 might, perhaps, explain our meaning better by saying that 

 his weather side {i.e., the front of his body) had a better 

 covering to protect it than his lee side ((.<■., his backi, in 

 contradistinction to what maintains in quadrupedal 

 mammals, where the dorsal surface of the trunk is more 

 exposed to the inclemency of the weather. We will not 

 here concern ourselves with those remarkable growths of 

 body hair which appear after the age of puberty other than 

 to observe that we know of no comparable growth in 

 mammals — indeed the contrary seems the more general 

 rule for those regions, i.e., the asill* and pubis, which in 

 man are the most thickly coated are in lower forms the 

 most thinly covered. .\t the same time we may add that 

 the theory advanced by Dr. Louis Robinson — viz., that the 

 axillary tufts were useful as affording the offspring a 

 means whereby to get a good grip when, during flight, 

 they sought the protection of the parent — appears to us 

 more ingenious than convincing. 



Before leaving the question of the general distribution 

 of hair over the surface of the body, it may be of interest 

 to note that, exceptionally, remarkable Instances are met 

 with of a pronounced development of this body hair. The 

 most strildng example hitherto met with is that of a family 

 in Burmah, the members of which all displayed to an 

 unusual extent this exceptional growth of hair. Doubtless 

 many of our readers may remember the exhibition of some 

 members of this family, and the photographs of them may 

 still be obtained by those who seek for the curious. Among 

 the races of man, the Ainu, who inhabit the islands north 

 of -Japan, are accredited with a stronger growth of head, 

 face, and body hair than usually falls to the lot of most. 

 In consequence these people are often spoken of as the 

 hairy Ainus, though it maybe candidly admitted that they 

 are credited with a hairiness which facts do not seem to 

 justify. 



Whilst the foregoing considerations are interesting in 



