TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION H. 693 
term ‘evolution’ in connection with the development of human arts. To me 
the word appears to be eminently appropriate, and I think it would be exceed- 
ingly difficult to find one which better expresses the succession of extremely 
minute variations by means of which progress has been effected. That the suc- 
cessive individual units of improvement, which when linked together form the 
chain of advancement, are exceedingly small is a fact which anyone can prove 
for himself if he will study im deal the growth of a modern so-called ‘ invention.’ 
One reason why we are apt to overlook the greater number of stages in the growth 
of still living arts is that we are not as a rule privileged to watch behind the 
scenes. Of the numberless slight modifications, each but a trifling advance upon 
the last, it is but comparatively few which ever meet the eye of the public, which 
only sees the more important stages; those, that is to say, which present a suffi- 
ciently distinct advance upon that which has hitherto been in use to warrant 
their attracting attention, or, shall we say, having for a time a marketable value. 
The bulk of the links in the evolutionary chain disappear almost as soon as they 
are made, and are known to few, perhaps none, besides their inventors. Even 
where the history of some invention is recorded with the utmost care it is only 
the more prominent landmarks which receive notice; the multitude of trifling 
variations which have led up to them are not referred to, for, even if they be 
known, space forbids such elaborately detailed record. The smaller variations 
are, for the most part, utterly forgotten, their ephemeral existence and their 
slight individual influence upon the general progress being unrecorded at the time, 
and lost sight of almost at once. The immediately succeeding stage claims for the 
moment the attention, and it again in its turn becomes the stepping-stone upon 
which the next raises itself, and so on, 
Before proceeding further, let me give as briefly as I can an example of a deve- 
lopment series worked out, in the main, upon the general line of inquiry inau- 
gurated by Colonel Lane Fox. It is commonly accepted as a fact, which is 
borne out by tradition, both ancient and modern, that certain groups of stringed 
instruments of music must be referred for their origin to the bow of the archer. 
The actual historical record does not help us to come to a definite conclusion oa 
this point, nor does the direct testimony of archeology, but from other sources 
very suggestive evidence is forthcoming. A comparative study of the musical 
instruments of modern savage and barbaric peoples makes it very clear to one 
that the greater portion of the probable chain of sequences which led trom the simple 
bows to highly specialized instruments of the harp family may be reconstructed 
from types still existing in use among living peoples, most of the well-defined 
early stages being represented in Africa at the present day.! The native of Dama- 
raland, who possesses no stringed instrument proper, is in the habit of temporarily 
converting his ordinary shooting-bow into a musical instrument. For this 
purpose he ties a small thong loopwise round the bow and bow-string, so as to 
divide the latter into two vibrating parts of unequal length. When lightly struck 
with a small stick the tense string emits a couple of notes, which satisfy this 
primitive musician’s humble cravings for purely rhythmic sound. Amongst many 
other African tribes we find a slight advance, in the form of special rather 
slightly made bows constructed and used for musical purposes only. In order to 
increase the volume of sound, it is frequently the custom amongst some of the 
tribes to rest the bow against some hollow, resonant body, such as an inverted 
pot or hollow gourd, In many parts, again, we find that the instrument has been 
further improved by attaching a gourd to the bow, and thus providing it with a 
permanent resonating body. To achieve greater musical results, it would appear 
that somewhere in Africa (in the West, I suspect) two or more small bows 
were attached to a single gourd. I have, so far, been unable to trace this par- 
ticular link in Africa itself, but, curiously enough, this very form has been 
obtained from Guiana, It may be thought that I am applying a breaking 
strain to the chain of evidence when I endeavour to work an instrument 
1 The Natural History of the Musical Bow, by H. Balfour Clarendon Press, 
Oxford. 
