240 



REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE. 



With regard to the association of hair-colour and eye-colour I may 

 notice that in general the usual rule applies to Crete, that is to say, fair 

 hair or light-coloured hair may be accompanied by dark eyes (cf . on this 

 point the paper on Aragonese school-children, mentioned above), whereas 

 it is much more unusual for the reverse combination to appear. 

 Here, at Palaikastro, this unusual combination did actually occur twice. 

 The dark-brown hair in these boys was associated with eyes of a grey 

 tint merging into the hazel colour so distinctive of many Cretans. 



In the majority of instances the hair is straight or somewhat wavy, 

 but not closely curled. 



II. Colour of the Eyes. — Turning to the data (provided in Table IV.) 

 for the colour of the eyes, analysis gives the following summary of the 

 records : — 



Table IV. — Eye-colour and Aye. 



* One individual (Pk. 15) having eyes of different colours, is counted twice. 

 f Comparable data for 100 schoolboys at Alhama de Aragon, Spain. 



Upon this table I would comment as follows : First, the gradation 

 in depth of pigmentation does not follow the same sequence in respect 

 of age, as was observed to obtain in the case of the hair. In other 

 words, the eye-colour is seemingly independent of age in years. Again, 

 the Aragonese schoolboys provide exactly the same characteristics as 

 those of Crete in this feature of eye-colour : the percentage figures for 

 both series of children will be found in the table. Lastly, the adult 

 Cretano seem to provide a contradictory result. This paradox may well 

 have a two-fold explanation. For the adults include a large proportion 

 of men from the most eastern province of Crete )Sitia), where I suspect 

 the medium tints preponderate. A second contributory cause may be 

 found in the fact that I was obliged perforce to observe the adults in 

 the open air, often in a strong light. The children were seen in a 



1 Tn England the eye-colour seems to darken with age to maturity, but not 

 nearly in such marked degree as the colour of the hair (cf. British Assoc- Report, 188?, 

 Tftbl-j XI., pp. 27?, 279 ; also Eeddoe.. The Huxley Lecture, 1905. 



