THE RACES OF MAN. 163 



what different consideration from mere constancy of character, 

 for two forms may be highly variable and yet not yield inter- 

 mediate varieties. Geographical distribution is often brought 

 into play unconsciously and sometimes consciously; so that 

 forms living In two widely separated areas, in which most of the 

 other inhabitants are specifically distinct, are themselves usually 

 looked at as distinct; but in truth this affords no aid in dis- 

 tinguishing geographical races from so-called good or true species. 



Now let us apply these generally-admitted principles to the 

 races of man, viewing him in the same spirit as a naturalist would 

 any other animal. In regard to the amount of difference between 

 the races, we must make some allowance for our nice powers of 

 discrimination gained by the long habit of observing ourselves. 

 In India, as Elphinstone remarks, although a newly-arrived Eu- 

 ropean cannot at first distinguish the various native races, yet 

 they soon appear to him extremely dissimilar;^ and the Hindoo 

 cannot at first perceive any difference between the several Eu- 

 ropean nations. Even the most distinct races of man are much 

 more like each other in form than would at first be supposed; 

 certain negro tribes must be excepted, whilst others, as Dr. Rohlfs 

 writes to me, and as I have myself seen, have Caucasian 

 features. This general similarity is well shown by the French 

 photographs in the Collection Anthropologique du Museum de 

 Paris of the men belonging to various races, the greater number 

 of which might pass for Europeans, as many persons to whom 

 I have shown them have remarked. Nevertheless, these men, if 

 seen alive, would undoubtedly appear very distinct, so that we 

 are clearly much influenced in our judgment by the mere color 

 of the skin and hair, by slight differences in the features, and 

 by expression. 



There is, however, no doubt that the various races, when care- 

 fully compared and measured, differ much from each other, — as 

 in the texture of the hair, the relative proportions of all parts 

 of the body,^ the capacity of the lungs, the form and capacity of 

 the skull, and even in the convolutions of the brain.^ But it 

 would be an endless task to specify the numerous points of dif- 

 ference. The races differ also in constitution, in acclimatization 



1 'History of India,' 1S41, vol. i. p. 323. Father Ripa makes exactly 

 the same remark with respect to the Chinese. 



2 A vast number of measurements of "Whites, Blacks, and Indians, 

 are given in the 'Investigations in the Militai-y and Anthropolog. Sta- 

 tistics of American Soldiers,' by B. A. Gould, 1869, pp. 298-358; 'On the 

 capacity of the lungs,' p. 471. See, also, the numerous and valuable 

 tables, by Dr. Weisbach, from the observations of Dr. Scherzer and 

 Dr. Schwarz, in the 'Reise der Novara: Anthropolog. Theil,' 1867. 



s See, for instance, Mr. Marshall's account of the brain of a Bush- 

 woman in 'Phil. Transact.' 1864, p. 519. 



