388 
NATURE 
[January 18, 1917 
| 
that much to which the author originally pinned | 
his faith is no longer tenable. Spiral nebule are 
proving to be something bigger than the author 
at first imagined them to be, and both mathe- 
maticians and observers feel doubts as to whether 
their particular branches of astronomical science 
will altogether confirm the author’s predictions | 
as to the course of events. At the same time the 
author has always regarded his theory as one to | 
be continually modified in the light of new facts, 
so that the question of present interest is whether 
the theory can be fitted to new knowledge with- 
out entirely losing its original character. 
The book will be welcomed as providing a com- 
plete and authoritative account of a hypothesis 
which must be considered along with others in 
our efforts to unravel the history of our system. 
J. H. J. 
The Earliest Voyages Round the World, 1519- 
1617. Edited by P. F. Alexander. Pp. xxiii+ 
216. (Cambridge: At the University Press, 
1916.) Price 3s. net. 
In the century, 1519-1617, covered by this travel- 
book there. were six voyages round the world— 
one Spanish, led by a Portuguese, Magellan; two 
English, led by Drake and Cavendish; and three 
Dutch, led by Van Noort, Speilbergen, and Le 
Maire and Schouten. Mr. Alexander includes in 
this volume Pigafetta’s account of the Magellan 
expedition; Francis Pretty’s narratives of Drake’s 
piratical voyage, and of Cavendish’s first voyage ; 
and an account of Le Maire and Schouten’s dis- 
covery of the route round Cape Horn. There are 
numerous illustrations, including a sixteenth-cen- 
tury map of Drake’s voyage corrected by the 
great navigator; a dozen pages of useful notes; a 
brief introduction to the narratives; and a table 
of important dates in the history of discovery. As 
a contemporary source book, which maintains the 
atmosphere of the great days of the early voyages, 
this compilation will prove extremely useful and 
stimulating. 
Large-Scale Map of the French Battle-Front. 
(London: G. W. Bacon and Co., Ltd.) Paper, 
1s. net; cloth, 1s. 6d. net. 
Tuis map, on a scale.of four miles to an inch, 
shows the battle-front from Peronne to Verdun. 
There is a gap of about twenty miles to the south 
of Peronne, but the advance of the Allies will no 
doubt soon bring this part of the battle-line within 
the area of the sheet. The map shows woods in 
green, and the present front, approximately as it 
was on November 10, by a red line. There is, 
unfortunately, no attempt to show elevation either 
by contours or spot-heights. Rivers, railways, 
and canals are clearly and accurately shown, and 
there is an abundance of names. The map should 
make it easy to follow the course of any advance 
on this front, though the absence of indications of 
relief will not help the reader to grasp the signi- 
ficance of the line of front. There is a com- 
panion map at the same price of the British front 
to the north. 
NO. 2464, VoL. 98] 
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, 
[The Editor does not hold himself responsible for 
opinions expressed by his correspondents. Neither 
can he undertake to return, or to correspond with 
the writers of, rejected manuscripts intended’ for 
this or any other part of NaTuRE. No notice is 
taken of anonymous communications.] Pa 
The Permanence of Finger-Print Patterns. — 
I RECEIVED a féw days ago Sir Wm. J. Herschel’s 
brochure, “The Origin of Finger-Printing.” His 
object—in. addition to examining other claims to this 
method—is stated to be the desire to place on record 
the discovery of this method of identification “in 
Bengal in 1858,’’ and the author seems to be piously 
grateful for the “gift granted" to him of that great 
and most useful discovery. The evidence for this early 
date is contained in the imprint of a single hand of 
one Konai, made at that time. This was issued on a 
single sheet some years ago, but when, as an eager 
student of the subject, I applied to the publishers for 
a copy, I was told it was issued only for private circu- 
lation, and could not be supplied to me. I now hasten 
at the first opportunity to give my own opinion 
of this impression, long guarded so carefully from the 
inspection of the expert critic. ‘eee 
The fateful lines so dear to palmistry are quite 
nicely shown up, and many of the skin furrows, or 
rugae, on the palm are printed with considerable clear- 
ness. That is, the part of the hand not at all used in 
the official system of identification is well done, but 
what of those parts on which the system entirel 
relies? The significant pads at the last joint of eath 
finger, which are full of intricate patterns in every 
human, or monkey, finger, are not shown at all. They 
are mere uniform blotches of ink.. There is absolutely 
no trace of a pattern of the simplest kind in any one 
of the five fingers shown. I wish to be understood 
as not exaggerating for any controversial effect, and 
appeal to any trained detective if this is not as 1 
represent. No identification could be effected on such 
a basis, and the system was therefore clearly not dis- 
covered in 1858 by the baronet. I cannot perceive that 
even now the author has any adequate conception of — 
what the system is, now in general and “satisfactory 
operation throughout the civilised world. A most 
curious confusion has arisen from an. original police 
blunder that no two single finger patterns are ever 
alike, for which, I think, Sir William himself is mainly 
responsible. I am quite sure that there is no scien- 
tific basis for such an assertion. My syllabic system 
of classification, applied to a large collection, would 
enable such an assertion tobe severely tested, but I know 
of noother methodiin existence which could do so, To 
compare finger by finger in a large collection is utterly 
impossible. But by giving a short syllabic name to 
the pattern of each finger those names can be assorted 
apart from the hand collection, and those which are 
similar can be compared individually. I have no 
doubt in my own mind that such a search would reveal 
closely similar fingers in different individuals, so closely 
similar indeed that the slightest blur in printing would 
lead to the fallacious conclusion of identity. It was 
on getting a clear perception of this very dangerous 
fallacy, still manfully held and expounded by one or 
two police experts, that from 1879-80, when I first 
made public the method, I insisted on the use of the 
whole set of ten fingers, serially and consecutively 
printed, for criminal identification. It affords an 
example of mutations, but for trivial purposes fewer 
fingers might do very well. The English method, now 
practically used everywhere, cannot be greatly im- 
proved upon in this respect for identifying old convicts 
on reconviction. } 
