NA TURE 



[November 7, 1901 



the anthropoids the lip occasionally recurs, showiny that ihey 

 come of a stock in which the ear was lipped. Only two groups 

 of the old-world monkeys constantly retain the tipped form of 

 ear — these are the maca(|iies and baboons ; in the other three 

 croups of old-world monkeys (see Table IV'.) the tip has already 

 begun to disappear. It is probable, then, that the tipped form 

 of ear began to disappear during an early stage in the evolution 

 of ihe anthropoid and human slocks. 



There can be little doubt that in the ear of the baboon or 

 macaque (see Fig. 6) we have preserved for us approximately 

 the form out of which the different types of ear seen in the higher 

 Primates, including man, have been evolved. The tip occurs at 

 the junction of the horizontal and descending helix ; in this 

 position it has to be looked for in man. 



The complete or partial disappearance of the lip of the ear is 

 part and parcel of the retrogression of the descending helix. 

 When the descending helix (posterior border) becomes inrolled, 

 then the tip is also inrolled. In the third month of fcetal life, 

 the descending helix is not yet inrolled and the tip is constanlly 

 present on the human ear (Schxffer). Some trace or indica- 

 tion of the tip can be made out in 75 per cent, of adult men 

 (Schwalbe). IJut in the statistics I give here relating to this 

 structure, only those cases are included which showed Darwin's 

 point in an unmistakable and pronounced form. 



It is clearly evident from Table IV. that, before any deduc- 

 tion as to the presence of this structure on the ears of the 

 criminal and insane classes can be made, the influence of race 

 and sex must be taken into account. It is more frequently 

 present in the male than the female ; Schwalbe found it three 

 times more so in the males nf Upper Alsace, and this agrees with 

 what I found in a typical p^nglish place, such as relerborough. 



Ear tip 



Horizhelix 



r .Macaque, 



In the African negro it is rarely present ; the helix of his ear 

 has undergone so marked relrogiessive changes ; but in the 

 Andamanese it is frequently present — more so in the women than 

 men. The ratio of its presence varies widely with the race and 

 locality. 



In Table V. are given the results of observations made on ( i ) 

 the insane, (2) criminals, (3) congenital idiots. 



Table \'. — The Occtnrtnce 0/ Darwin's Tip in Ike Insane, 

 in Criminals and in Congenital IJiots. 



Unfortunately I have no " control " observations on the 

 population from which the insane of .Aberdeen and Durham are 

 drawn, but in the case of Cork and Dublin I have, and it is 

 seen that l>arwin's point comes out in the insane wiih double 

 the frequency, or rather more, than that wilh which it occurs in 

 the sane. The criminals also show it with a much greater 

 frequency than I have found in any locality throughout the 



1 I am greatly indebted id the superintendents of thesi 

 the opportunities and lielp tl.ey afforded m;. 



sylu 



NO. 1 67 I, VOL. 65] 



country. Its frequency is especially marked in congenital idiots 

 and those vagabonds that congregate at the doors of the police 

 courts and night shelters in London and Liverpool. 



Darwin's point, the structure which we now deal with, differs 

 very materially in nature from the subject last considered, viz., 

 the type of ear. The two types of ear were symptoms merely 

 of progressive or retrogressive development, but Darwin's point 

 is the persistence of an ancestral or, what amounts to nearly 

 ihe same thing, a ftetal form, and with this persistence might 

 be expected a correlated persistence, to some extent at least, of 

 the ancestral faculties of the brain. This certainly does not 

 hold true of the individual ; it does to some extent of the mass. 

 Clearly the insane and criminal classes are drawn with an undue 

 proportion from those in which Darwin's point is pronouncedly 

 present. 



The Lobule. — Before concluding, I wish briefly to refer to 

 ihis structure, because it differs in nature from the two features of 

 the ear already considered. It is a structure of comparatively 

 recent addition to the ear. It is not the case that it is a feature 

 peculiar to man ; it may be detected, as Table VI. shows, in 

 the ears of the three great anthropoids, but it is only in man 

 that it finds a full and almost constant development, and there- 

 fore may be regarded as a recently added and progressive 

 structure. 



It is necessary to allude to the manner in w hich the index 

 of the development or size of the lobule was obtained. A 

 reference to Fig. 5 will assist in the explanation. I became 

 accustomed to measure with the eye the various degrees to which 

 the lobule was developed and arranged them in four groups : — ■ 



(1) tho.se in which the lobule was extremely small or absent ; 



(2) those in which it was developed to the first degree ; 



(3) those in which it was developed to the second degree ; 

 and (4) those of the largest or third degree. Those degrees are 

 indicated in Fig. 5. An index of 1 (>, for instance, signifies 

 that the average lobule in ihat group of individuals reached, in 

 my artificial standard, I '6 degrees of development. The method 

 is not accurate ; nothing less than actual measurements would 

 render it so ; but before such a laborious process is undertaken 

 one requires to be assured that some very definite result will be 

 accomplished. My method is accurate enough for the purposes 

 of comparison and lor eliciting any decided factor which may 

 be at work. 



It will be seen that it is the case with the lobule as with the 

 two other features of the ear, that its development varies with 

 sex and r.ace. It is larger in the female than in the male ; it is 

 larger in the white races ihan in the black. 



Us development in the insane and criminal classes does not 

 depart to any marked extent from that of the normal classes. 

 In the insane of Aberdeen and Dublin, the lobule was smaller 

 ihan ihat of the sane of the same localities, but in Cork the 

 dilTcrence was rather the reverse. It appears to reach an average 

 development in criminals, but in congenital idiots, on the other 

 hand, it r.ilher approaches the degree of development met with 

 in the gorilla. 



To sum up. This investigation was originally undertaken 

 to see how far the characters of the external ear might 



