86 Dr John Struthers on Variation in the Number 
variety, and both stated that they had never known or heard of it 
in their ancestors, neither having ever heard of such a thing before 
except in the case of. the son of the giant in Gath, which they 
called to recollection in discussing the wonder. The first child 
of this family was a boy, without any digital peculiarity. The 
mother next had four miscarriages, between the 4th and 7th 
months, two boys and two girls, also it is stated with the hands and 
feet quite natural. The sixth child, the daughter M , was the 
first to present the variety; she had six toes as above described. 
The family had lived in Forfarshire, and now went to Glasgow. 
When again pregnant, the mother’s thoughts must have been 
strongly turned in this direction, as she relates that she heard as 
it were a distinct voice from the wall of the room say that the 
child would have more than the last. This was about the second 
or third month, and made a deep impression on her mind. The 
child was the boy James O above described as presenting six 
fingers and six toes. ‘Three daughters, successively, were the next 
children born, whose hands and feet were quite natural. Lastly 
came the boy Charles O , above described as having been born 
with an additional digit both on the feet and hands. 
Dr Smith has attended two of the daughters in their confine- 
ment; one has had three children all of whom have the fingers and 
toes normal; the other, the daughter who was born with six toes, 
has had one child, a male, who lived only a few days, in whom the 
toes and fingers were normal. M , J , and C O 
have two paternal uncles and two paternal aunts, and one maternal 
uncle and five maternal aunts, all of whom have families, and in 
none of them—uncles, aunts, or children—do the fingers or toes 
present any variety. ‘The mother, Mrs O——, was a twin, and the 
twin sister has had three children. 
The mother, Mrs O , mentions that she used to work beside 
a girl who had a double thumb, but this was years before she was 
married. The father mentions that after the variety had occurred 
in his own family, he saw a man who was exhibited as a giant with 
six fingers and six toes. The O family mention the case of a 
railway guard (George B——), known to them after the variety 
had appeared among them, who had an additional finger on the 
ulnar side of his right hand, and an additional toe, also said to be 
on the right foot. He died a few months ago and leaves five or 
six children, none of whom have additional fingers or toes. 
The following Seven Cases present an Additional Thumb on one Hand. 
2. J —— S—— , at. 25, Berwickshire, has an additional thumb 
on the right hand. The metacarpal bone bifurcates to support the 
two thumbs, which are of nearly equal length and thickness, that 
next the forefinger being slightly thicker and more powerful than 
the other. Each contains two phalanges, the proximal 14 inch, 
the distal 1 inch in length, being as long as those of the thumb of 
the left hand, except the distal phalanges, which are 4 inch shorter. 
