14 



NATURE 



\^Nov. 4, 1886 



thinks, as successive modifications of each other ; but 

 the next release is an entirely independent form, having 

 r.o relation to the other. 



(5) The Moui^oliait Release. — In this the string is 

 drawn by the flexed thumb bent over the string, the end 

 •of the forefinger assisting in holding the thumb in position 

 (Figs. 7 and S). The arrow is held at the junction of the 

 thumb and forefinger, the base of the finger pressing the 

 arrow against the bow. For this reason the arrow is 

 always placed to the right of the bow vertical. This 

 release is characteristic of the Asiatic races, such as the 

 JNIanchu, Chinese, Corean, Japanese, and Turk. The 

 Persians also use it. The thumb is protected by a guard : 

 the Manchus, Chinese, and others \ise a thick ring worn 

 near the base of the thumb. It may be made of any hard 

 material, such as horn, bone, ivory, quartz, agate, or jade. 

 The Japanese archer uses a glove consisting of the thumb 

 and two fingers. 



These are the principal and most efficier.t forms of re- 

 lease, although doubtless there are others. Of the methods 

 employed by ancient peoples, as represented in manu- 

 scripts, sculptures, &c., the Assyrians at one s'.age of their 

 history appear to have used the primary form, wliile sub- 

 secjuently they used the secondary, and still later the 

 Mediterranean release. The ancient Egyptians appear 

 to have practised three, if not four, definite and distinct 

 methods of release, but many of the representations in the 

 old sculptures are evidently purely conventional, while 

 some are clearly impossible. Following on these, Prof. 

 Morse discusses the methods employed in ancient Greece, 

 Persia, Japan, China, India, Mexico. Here he is naturally 

 •on less secure ground, for he has to endeavour to spell 

 out a conclusion from various and conflicting positions of 

 the hand in various ancient graphic representations of 

 life amongst these peoples. The discussion involves a 

 considerable amount of detail and numerous woodcuts by 

 •way of illustration, for which the reader must be referred 

 to Prof Morse's pamphlet. We must content ourselves 

 with reproducing briefly his conclusions, which, it will be 

 understood, are at present for the most part provisional, 

 pending additional information and wider discussion. 

 The persistence of a particular release in a people is well 

 illustrated in the case of the Ainos. For centuries the 

 Ainos have battled with the Japanese, and must have been 

 mindful of the superior archery of their enemies ; indeed, 

 on all hands, with the exception possibly of the Kam- 

 ■chatdales to the north, the Ainos have been surrounded 

 by races practising the Mongolian release, and yet have 

 adhered to their primitive methods of shooting. The two 

 strongest releases — both perhaps equally powerful— are 

 the Mediterranean and Mongolian, and it is interesting 

 to note that the two great divisions of the human family 

 who can claim a history, and who have been dominant in 

 the aftairs of mankind, are the Mediterranean nations 

 and the Mongolians. For several thousands of years 

 ■each stock has had its peculiar arrow-release, and this 

 has persisted through all the mutations of time to the 

 present day. Language, manners, customs, religions, 

 have in the course of centuries widely separated these 

 two great divisions into nations. Side by side they have 

 lived ; devastating wars and wars of conquest have 

 marked their contact ; and yet the apparently trivial and 

 simple act of releasing the arrow from the bow has re- 

 mained unchang:ed. At the present moment the Euro- 

 pean and Asiatic archer, shooting now only for sport, 

 practise each the release which characterised their re- 

 mote ancestors. The following classified list shows in a 

 general way that the primary, secondary, and tertiary 

 releases are practised by savage races to-day, as well as 

 by certain ancient civilised races, while the Mediterranean 

 and jMongolian releases, though originating early in time, 

 have always characterised the ci\'ilised and dominant 

 races. The exceptions to this generalisation are curious : 

 the Little Andaman Islanders practise the Mediterranean 



release, and those of the Great Andanians the Tertiary ; 

 various groups of Eskimo practise the Mediterranean 

 release, and have designed a distinct form of arrow for 

 this method. 



Primary Release. — Savage : Ainos, Demerara Indians, 

 various North American tribes ; civilised : early Assyrian, 

 Egyptian, and Grecian (?) 



Secondary Release. — Savage : some North American 

 tribes ; civilised : later Assyrian and Indian {}) 



Tertiary Release. — Savage : North American tribes. 

 Great Andamans ; civilised : Siamese, Egyptian, Grecian, 

 and Mexican (i") 



Mcditerranea7i Release. — Savage : Eskimo, Little Anda- 

 mans ; civilised : European nations now, and the archers 

 of the Middle Ages, laterAssyrian, early Egyptian, .Arabian, 

 Indian, and Roman. 



Mongolian Release. — Manchus, Chinese, Coreans, 

 Japanese, Turks, Persians, Scythians, Egyptians (?) 



In conclusion. Prof Morse expresses a belief that the me- 

 thod of using the bow may form another point in establish- 

 ing or disproving relationships, in identifying the affinities 

 of past races. Travellers and explorers should not con- 

 tent themselves with observing the simple fact that such 

 and such people use bows and arrows, but they should 

 accurately record (i) the attitude of the shaft hand ; (2) 

 whether the bow is held horizontally or vertically ; (3) 

 whether the arrow is to the right or left of the bow 

 vertical ; and (4) whether the extra arrows are carried 

 in the bow hand or shaft hand. The method of bracing 

 the bow is of importance also. While anxious to get 

 information respecting the arrow-releases of tribes and 

 peoples, he is particularly desirous of hearing about those 

 employed by the \'eddahs of Ceylon, the hill-tribes of 

 India, African tribes, and those of South America, espe- 

 cially the Fuegians. Such material, in the shape of 

 descriptions, photographs, drawings, and if possible 

 specimens of bows and arrows, may be sent to Prof. 

 E. S. Morse, Peabody Academy of Science, Salem, 

 Massachusetts, and will be acknowledged and used in 

 a future publication on the subject. 



CLIMA TOLOGV OF THE CROVDOX DISTRICT^ 



IN a little tract of thirty-six pages, which has just 

 appeared in the Transactions of the Croydon Micro- 

 scopical and Natural History Club, Mr. Eaton has dis- 

 cussed the climatology of this part of England with a 

 skill, clearness, and fairness seldom met with in local 

 climatologies. The observations of temperature, which 

 were conducted on the same systematic plan with Steven- 

 son's screens, were made at seven stations, these being, 

 in the order of their heights, Park Hill, Addiscombe, 

 South Norwood, West Norwood, Waddon, Wallington, 

 and Beddington. The periods selected for discussion are 

 the five years iSSi to 1885 inclusive. The stations are 

 included within an area measuring 4 miles from north- 

 east to south-west by 2^ miles from south-east to north- 

 west. The monthly results are given on fourteen pages 

 with satisfactory fullness ; and with them are conjoined, 

 for the sake of comparison, the corresponding records of 

 temperature at the Greenwich and Kew (.ibservatories. 



The heights and mean temperatures of the five sta- 

 tions from which observations are available for the whole 

 of the five years are these : — Beddington, 102 feet, 4S''8 ; 

 Waddon, 156 feet, 49° o ; South Norwood, 190 feet, 49°'4; 

 Addiscombe, 202 feet, 49''3 ; and Park Hill, 259 feet, 49 -4, 

 — Park Hill, the highest station, being thus o~'6 warmer 

 than Beddington, the lowest station. This subversion of 

 the general rule that the temperature diminishes with 

 greater elevation is shown to be due to the frequency 

 with which, on clear calm nights, the air in contact with 

 the ground is cooled and rendered denser by radiation, 



^ " Report on the Tempemture and the R;\infall of the Croydon District, 

 iS3i-85," by Henry Storks Eaton. 



