740 THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. (VOL: XXXIII. 
attempt made by American writers to generalize concerning the rela- 
tions of the clan and gens from a study of American tribes alone ; 
he shows that the matriarchal does not necessarily precede the patri- 
archal system in general, and that the clan “is still on defense even 
in North America.” 
Our author describes the temperament of the American aborigines 
as “ moody, reserved, and wary ” ; we had supposed that this “ conven- 
tional Indian” had been finally banished from scientific literature. 
The Indian doubtless exhibits such traits when in contact with the 
blight of civilization, but this is certainly not the case when he is 
among his kindred, as has been made known by several writers and 
as we have learned from personal observation among several tribes 
from the Arctic Sea to Mexico. 
In the Z¢Anology no general divisions of the Caucasian race 
based upon physical structure were recognized, but in the present 
work the classification of Lapouge, Ripley, etc., is accepted and the 
entire branch is divided into the three groups: Homo europaeus, H. 
alpinus, and HH. mediterranensis. Concerning the generalizations of 
the ‘anthropo-sociologists ?” Professor Keane states his belief that 
“a huge superstructure seems to have been built upon very weak 
foundations.” ‘lhe comprehensive character of the work involves 
the brief treatment of many disputed questions regarding origins and 
relationships, yet the evidence is submitted for the most part with 
fairness and in a lucid and convincing style. Twelve plates of por- 
trait types are given, some of them being reproductions from photo- 
graphs of apparently indifferent quality. FRANK RUSSELL. 
Anthropological Notes. — In a paper read before the Anthropo- 
logical Society of Paris, Oct. 6, 1898, M. Paul d’Enjoy declared 
that the black color of the teeth of the Annamese is due to the appli- 
cation of “noir animal et de la poudre de calambac,” the process 
requiring much time and patience and not the result of betel chewing, 
as is commonly supposed. 
In the Revue de IP Ecole @’ Anthropologie of June 15 are reported the 
investigations of Dr. Chemin upon the occurrence of bluish or slaty 
spots on the skin of Mongolian infants. These marks have been 
observed among the Chinese of the bay of Kouan-cheou-Han, Anna- 
mites, Minh-huongs, Chinese-Siamese metis, and among the Siamese 
of Bangkok. The spots disappear about the sixth year. 
Mr. F. W. Rudler, in his presidential address, published in the 
Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. 1, Nos. 3 and 4, gives 
