736 The American Naturalist. [August, 
uals. From their own observations they are inclined to distinguish 
three separate classes of effects. 1. In a majority of persons every 
-emotion produces a vascular constriction, an acceleration of the heart 
and of the respiration, and an increase of amplitude in the thoracic 
cavity. 2. In some few cases a sensation of pain or an emotion of sor- 
row may produce a slight retardation of the heart; and 3. It is pos- 
sible, as observations made on one subject prove, that the form of the 
capillary pulse may change with the quality of the emotion; this last 
effect, they remark, may in time enable us to make a classification of 
the emotions according to their physiological effects on the form of the 
pulse.—H. C. W. 
ANTHROPOLOGY.’ 
Observations on the Scapule of Northwest Coast Indians. 
—Researches on the scapula since the time of Broca’s’ paper in 1878 
have not been very numerous or conclusive in their results, and it seems 
fair to say that the valuable ethnic results which it was expected would 
be derived from extended observations on the scapula have not proved 
entirely satisfactory. Nor does it yet seem possible to say whether this 
is due to the insufficient numbers of scapule which have been examined 
or to individual variation. From an examination of the literature on 
the subject, especially from the papers of Sir William Turner’ and Pro- 
fessor Dwight,‘ one would infer that the latter reason is the chief cause 
for the unsatisfactory results. Indeed, Professor Dwight declares,’ 
“I do not know what range of variation a great series of the scapule 
of the larger felidæ might present, but a small one shows nothing like 
that of the human race—I might even add, that of the Caucasian.” It 
must be confessed, however, that the numbers of observations s0 far 
made have been exceedingly small. This is to be explained, of course, 
This department is edited by H. C. Mercer, University of Pennsylvania. 
*“ Sur les indices de largeur de posean chey l’homme,” etc., Bull. de la 
Soc. d'anthropologie de Paris, Feby. 21, 1878. 
3 Challenger report, Zoology, Vol. XVI, “ Report on the Human Skeletons,” 
p- 81. 
‘The T of Variation of the Human Shoulder-blade,” AMERICAN NATUR- 
ALIST, July, 1887 
5“ The Range and Significance of Variation in the Human Skeleton,” Boston, 
1894, p. 23 
