398 General Notes. [June, 
but is in little tufts a small distance from one another. When 
they cut it short it resembles a shoe-brush, with this difference 
that the tufts are twisted into little knots the size of a pea he 
ut as far as my observation goes, the character according to 
which M. Haeckel and others cut into two’subdivisions, the grand 
branch of negroes does not exist at all. Among all the negroes 
the hair grows uniformly upon the surface of the head and of the 
body. Among all there are tufts. But these tufts are not indi- 
cated upon the skin. The hair of the negro varies in aspect more 
than people ordinarily imagine, as Hombron was one of the first to 
remark. It is presented under three principal forms, between 
which there are all sorts of intermediary groups. 
The first is the typical form, which characterizes most generally 
the inferior negro races, to which the Hottentots belong ; ; it is the 
arrangement of the hair called “ grains of pepper.” This appear- 
ance is produced by the shortness, the turns of the spirals being 
very close and giving rise to very narrow coils or rings, perhaps 
2-4 millimetres; by the hairs being very numerous; and finally, 
by the total abandonment of the hair to itself. 
The second is in the form of locks twisted in curls, small or 
large, from 6-8 millimetres in diameter; locks which one might 
speak of as tufts, but much elongated, at times reaching 25 centi- 
metres (Fritsch). heap i Barrow meant this, when speaking 
of certain Hottentots, “ when they let their hair grow, it falls on 
the neck in twisted tassels, somewhat like fringe,” this form ang 
the preceding Bonwick observed among the Tasmanians. 
The third form is presented in the shape of a cushion or com- 
pact mat, more or less large, elastic, returning to its original curl 
when compressed with the hand. Itis a distribution of the hair 
in which the spirals are mixed, confounded without the least ap- 
pearance of order. It is encountered most frequently in the 
negro races with long hairs and at the same time with less savage 
races who take some pains with their toilet. It is in this form 
that we meet these bizarre coiffures, nsec nes travelers among 
the Caffres, Mpongwes, Somalis, Papuans, 
These same hairs, sufficiently. shasiacned’ p themselves, return 
to the preceding form with more or less facility. 
Finally, taking into account my own experience, and after at- 
tentively reading the travels describing the Hottentots, Papuans, 
and other negroes, I conclude that the division of the woolly- 
haired races by M. Haeckel into /ophocomi and eriocomi is without 
foundation. On page 94 will be found the report of a committee 
consisting of MM. Bordier, Topinard and Bertillon, to examine 
a negro in one of the hospitals. 
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