THE ABORIGINES OF TASMANIA. 337 



'056 in breadth and the broadest was '07. Each hair, when lying on a microscopic 

 slide, had inequalities in breadth, even in closely adjoining parts of the shaft, 

 owing to the natural twist in a hair, and the index computed from the longer and 

 shorter diameters was 53. 



As a rule the hairs were so intense a black that the structural characters were 

 obscured. Sometimes a brownish-black shade permitted transmission of a little 

 light reflected from the mirror. The fibrous structure of the cortex was expressed 

 by dark lines and spots, and by an occasional longitudinal splitting of the hair 

 in the course of the fibres. An axial band of dark medulla was not recognised 

 in any specimen, but the margin of the hair was defined by the cuticular 

 covering. 



Bush. — In the hairs of this race the alternating broader and narrower diameters 

 of the shaft were well pronounced, and the broader diameter ranged from '0625 to 

 '05 min., whilst the narrower was from '05 to '035 ; the hair index was computed to 

 average 50 (fig. 32). The cut ends of the hairs measured from '035 to '05 mm. The 

 colour of the hair was black, though modified at times with a brown tint ; it pervaded 

 the whole cortex with coarse lines and spots, but I saw no definite axial medulla. 

 The grey hair of the old woman presented interesting features, for whilst the 

 majority of hairs were colourless and the lines in the cortex were very feeble, 

 a few had a distinct axial medulla. In some hairs the medulla, though almost 

 colourless, was distinct from the cortex and showed indications of cells, but in others 

 it was black and strongly differentiated. A few normally coloured non-medullated 

 hairs were interspersed amongst the grey hairs. 



Hottentot. — The broader diameter of the twisted hair shaft in the specimens 

 ranged from '0625 to '05 and averaged '0580 mm., whilst the narrower diameter 

 ranged from '045 to '03 and the mean was" '038 mm. ; the hair index was com- 

 puted at 50. The cut ends varied in diameter from '0525 to '0375 mm. The bulk 

 of the hairs were black and so opaque that the structure was obscure, but a proportion 

 had different shades of brown. The cortex showed its customary characters and 

 was sometimes split longitudinally. A black axial medulla was frequently seen 

 either as a continuous band, or in fragments, some of which were so small that they 

 might represent individual pigmented cells. 



Kaffir. — The shafts of the twisted hairs showed a broader diameter which had the 

 mean '0616, and a narrower '0437 mm. ; the computed index was 52. The cut ends 

 ranged from '04 to '0350, and the diameter of the tip was '0225 mm. The cortex 

 was so deep a black that the structure was obscured, but some hairs were split 

 longitudinally in the direction of their fibres : an occasional brown-black hair was 

 seen ; it is difficult to say if a medullary band was present, though probably not. 



Andaman Islanders. — The cuttings of hair of these Negritos, as they rested on 

 microscopic slides, showed a marked twist, and the passage in the shaft from a 

 broader transverse diameter to an adjoining narrower could be easily traced. The 



