Chap. i. 
RUDIMENTS. 
21 
b\i^ r °m w ^ la ^ orie these persons told me, it is pro- 
a J e that most ot us by often touching our ears and 
Us Erecting our attention towards them, could by 
repeated trials recover some power of movement. The 
acuity of erecting the ears and of directing them to 
I 'ncrent points of the compass, is no doubt of the 
ughest service to many animals, as they thus perceive 
le l )0 * u t of danger; but I have never heard of a man 
'' l0 Possessed the least power of erecting his ears, — 
le one movement which might be of use to him. The 
W lc ^ e external shell of the ear may be considered a 
rudiment, together with the various folds and promi- 
nences (helix and anti-helix, tragus and anti-tragus, &c.) 
' ich in the lower animals strengthen and support the 
^ ar "hen erect, without adding much to its weight. 
^ orue authors, however, suppose that the cartilage of the 
serves to transmit vibrations to the acoustic 
k' erve > but Mr. Toynbee,' 44 after collecting all the 
'flown evidence on this head, concludes that the exter- 
1 SleP l 48 °f uo distinct use. The ears of the chim- 
panzee and orang are curiously like those of man, and I 
th , dS , Sure d by the keepers in the Zoological Gardens 
tjj dt ^bese animals never move or erect them ; so that 
^ ^ are m an equally rudimentary condition, as far as 
as Uctl0Q 48 concerned, as in man. Why these animals, 
We 1 as the progenitors of man, should have lost the 
wei of erecting their ears we cannot say. Jt may be, 
1 b am not quite satisfied with this view, that owing 
hut r'" U ' ai 'b Q1 ' ( - a l habits and great strength they were 
Per' V 6 <!X b°sed to danger, and so during a lengthened 
l 0 , '°, 1 rnove d their ears hut little, and thus gradually 
rnrnii P ° Wer of moving them. This would be a 
d e Case with that of those large and heavy birds, 
The Diseases of the Ear,’ by J. Toynbee, F.R.S., I860, p. 12. 
