Seeing, then, that continued exposure to the solar rays has such a marked effect upon the complexion of individuals who are sub jected to it, we should be led to expect, upon the principles already laid down, that this effect would be increased when the cause is in continued operation for several genera tions. And we might with the more confi dence anticipate such a result, when we see that a marked difference in complexion often exists between parent and offspring, or be tween the children of the same parents. Thus, it is a matter of familiar observation, that of two members of the same family, the one shall be a blonde, the other a brunette. Further, it is not uncommon to find, in indi viduals of the fair races, large patches of the surface almost as deeply coloured as the skin of the negro. On the other hand, albinoism, that is, the total absence of colouring matter in the skin, is probably as common among dark races as among fair. And Dr. Prichard has collected evidence which shows that in many of the individuals who have been de signated as " white Negroes," there has not been mere albinoism (that is, an entire ab• sence of colouring matter), but a positive de velopment of the colouring matter that cha racterises the xanthous variety, in which the complexion is fair and ruddy. Such being the tendency to variation presented by this character, we might fairly anticipate that it might undergo marked changes in the course of a long succession of generations, especially where the external conditions have been altered ; and there is no deficiency of valid historical evidence, that proves this to have been the case.—Perhaps the most striking example that could be cited, is that afforded by the Jewish race; in which there is no ques tion that a general purity of descent has been preserved through a long succession of gene tions, during which the scattered residence of the race has subjected it to a great variety of climatic influences. Now, although the de scendants of Abraham are still generally re cognizable by certain peculiarities of physiog nomy (so that they have often been quoted as examples of the permanence and fixity of the characters of races), yet a great variety of complexion exists among them. Thus, among the Jews whose families have been long settled in this country, although a light brunette hue with black hair is most common, yet a fair complexion, with blue eyes, is not unfre quent. In Germany and Poland, the ordi nary complexion is more florid, and blue eyes are more common. On the other hand, the Jews of Portugal are almost invariably much darker than those of Northern and Central Europe, as are also those who still cling to their ancient home in Palestine. Lastly, the Jews that have been settled in India for a long succession of generations, have become nearly as black as the natives around them, so that the people of a particular colony at Mattacheri, in Cochin, in whom this change has not yet taken place, are distinguished by the appellation of" white Jews." Hence it may be stated as a general proposition, that the complexion of the Jewish race tends to as similate itself to that prevailing in any country ill which their residence has been sufficiently prolonged ; and even admitting that a limited admixture with the surrounding population has taken place in any or all of these in stances, still the introduction of a small quan tity of extraneous blood does not by any means afford an adequate explanation of the change, since it has not been sufficient to alter any of the other characters of the race, and (as already remarked) the immediate results of such an occasional admixture are soon merged in the general uniformity of the mass. it is probable that, in races as in individuals, the influence of a tropical climate in darkening the complexion will be more decided, in pro portion to the previous condition of the chro matogenous function ; for example, that the Jews, whose natural complexion is swarthy, are more readily blackened than Saxons or Celts would be, the pigmentary matter in their epidermis being of a different character, There are several other cases of the same kind, in which the historical testimony is less complete, but in which the deficiency is made up by philological evidence. Thus, the Ba rabra or Berberines of the higher parts of the Nile, appear, from the most careful researches that have been made into their history, to be the descendants of the Nobatm, who were brought by Diocletian from an oasis in the western country, fifteen centuries ago, to in habit the valley of the Nile. The particular district out of which they issued was proba bly Kordofan, the inhabitants of which, true Negroes, still preserve and speak the BarAbra language. In their habits of life, they show a considerable advance in civilisation ; and this has been accompanied by a considerable change in complexion, their present physiog nomy and hue of skin presenting a marked resemblance to that of the ancient Egyptians. This alteration cannot be set down to any intermixture with the Arabs, or other in habitants of the Nile Valley, from whom the Berberines keep themselves distinct.—In like manner, the Funge, who made themselves masters of Sennaar about three centuries ago, although originally Negroes of the Shilfikh nation, no longer present the physiognomy or complexion of that race, but much more nearly approach the Berberines. There ap pears, in both cases, to be a special tendency towards a red complexion, and even red hair ; and among the Funge, the individuals thus distinguished are stated to form a separate caste, being known under the name of " El Akmar," or "the red people." In Northern India, again, there is no doubt that many of the tribes of mountaineers, already alluded to as distinguished by fair complexion and blue eyes, are of the same stock with the inhabit ants of the low country ; their language, tra ditions, religious observances, &c., being es sentially the same. One of the most remark able of these tribes is the Siah-Posh, a people of exquisite beauty, with regular Grecian features, blue eyes, arched eyebrows, and a fair complexion, having no resemblance to the Affghan or Cashmerian people, near whom they dwell; their language principally consists of Sanscrit words, although Sanscrit is no longer the spoken language of any part of India ; and they are acquainted with only the simplest form of Hindoo mythology; whence it may be fairly concluded, that they separated from the common stock at a very early period.
Thus, then, Nye have very strong evidence that a certain relation exists between climate and colour ; and it is no valid objection to the existence of such a relation, to say that it is not perfectly uniform. For it is at least as uniform as the relation between colour and race, even where the climatic influences are the same ; that is, the difference of shade among people of different races that have been exposed sufficiently long to the same climatic influences, is not greater than that which presents itself among individuals of the very same nation. It would seem that, among the most dark-skinned races, there is a greater variety of complexion than is found in those of fairer hue. Such has been already shown to be the case among the Polynesian islanders; and the following extract from Bishop He ber's Journal will serve to indicate the amount of variety existing among the Hindoos. " On first landing," he remarks, " the great differ ence in colour between different natives struck me much. Of the crowd by whom we were surrounded, some were as black as Negroes, others merely copper-coloured, and others little darker than the Tunisines whom I have seen in Liverpool. Mr. Mill, the principal of the British College, who came down to meet me, and who has seen more of India than most men, tells me that he cannot account for this difference, which is general throughout the country, and every where striking. It is not merely the difference of exposure, since this variety is visible in the fishermen, who are naked all alike. Nor does it depend on caste, since very high-caste Brahmins are sometimes black, while Pariahs are comparatively fair. It seems, therefore, to be an accidental difference, like that of light and dark complexions in Europe ; though, where so much of the body is exposed to light, it becomes more striking here than in our own country." So among the in habitants of Central Europe, it appears that a considerable modification in complexion has oc curred, which is not sufficiently accounted for by the climatic change that has taken place in it since the classical epoch. For the Ger manic nations were unanimously described by ancient authors as exceedingly fair, possessing yellow or red hair, and blue or grey eyes; but these characters are now far from being pre valent among them, and it is only amongst the Scandinavian races that they are common to the mass of the people.
On the whole, then, it must be concluded that the Colour of the Skin is a character of such variable nature, that no positive line of demarcation can be drawn by its aid between the different races of mankind ; and whilst it must be freely admitted that we are far from comprehending all the influences which ope rate to modify it, there seems ample evidence that climatic variations, whose agency is ex erted for a sufficiently long period, are among the most efficient. This statement is ob viously not invalidated by the fact, that Ne groes and other dark-skinned people, who have lived for some time in temperate cli mates, have not lost their characteristic hue. For there is no example on record, so far as the author is aware, in which a Negro tribe or set of families has maintained itself for even three or four generations in a temperate climate, without intermixture either with the surrounding " whites " or with " blacks " of more immediate tropical descent. And until
it shall have been shown that a continuous descent of many generations has taken place, in a group of Negroes completely isolated from the parent stock, and exposed to the condi tions which are presumed to favour the pro duction of the xanthous variety, without any considerable departure from their present com plexion, there will be no negative evidence at all equivalent in probative value to the facts already cited on the affirmative side of the question.
5. We have now to inquire into the cha racters furnished by the colour, texture, and mode of growth of the Hair, which have been much relied on by some writers, as more per manent and distinctive than those furnished by the hue of the skin. Thus, the Negro is usually characterised by his " woolly" hair ; while the Mongolian races are affirmed to be peculiar in the scantiness of their pilous covering ; and the Hottentots are further separated by its tufted arrangement, which has been compared to the mode in which the bristles are set in:a scrubbing-brush.—Now in regard to the colour of the hair, it is scarcely necessary to remark that it cannot be taken alone as a distinctive character of races ; since it is liable to present the most extreme variations within the limits of any one. Among the xanthous Anglo-Saxons, for example, jet-black hair is by no means uncommon ; although various shades of brown are most frequently met with. Among Ne groes, on the other hand, it is not at all rare to meet with a more or less complete de parture from what may be freely admitted to be the prevalent character of their race. In the instances which have been already cited as proving the want of constancy in the com plexion of the dark or melanic races, a corre sponding change manifests itself in the colour of the hair, which often becomes of a reddish brown, or even of a much lighter hue. These may occur in individuals, or in whole tribes. Thus, Dr. Pickering speaks of having seen two children, in whom "the Negro aspect had so entirely disappeared, that they might have passed for the children of Europeans, but for the remarkable appearance of the hair," which he could "compare to nothing but a white fleece."* The Cinghalese, according to the testimony of Dr. Davy, present as many va rieties of hair as they do of complexion ; its hue ranging through black and brown to red and even flaxen : and precisely the same is true of the Tahitians and Marquesans among the Oceanic race, as well as among many other nations. The texture and mode of growth of the hair, however, are characters on which it would appear, at first sight, that more re liance may be placed. The pilous covering may be described as " woolly," " crisped" or "friz zled," "flowing" or "wavy," and "straight." The African and Oceanic Negroes alone are characterised by "woolly" hair ; the Austra lians, Abyssinians, and many African nations, usually have the hair more or less " crisped" or " frizzled; " among the Indo-Europeans, the "flowing" or "wavy" character prevails ; while a peculiar straightness most commonly presents itself among nations of Mongolian descent. It is obvious, however, that these several terms express little more than differ ences in degree. For if " straight" hair has a slight tendency to curl, it becomes "wavy;" if this tendency be increased, it is commonly termed " curly ; " the "crisped" or "friz zled" hair is little else than hair with a pecu liarly stiff and close curl ; and the " woolly " covering of the head of the Negro is by no means so different from the crisped hair of other dark races, as the designation given to it would imply, the chief difference consisting in its closeness of texture and its tendency to mat together. As Dr. Prichard has correctly stated, it is clearly shown by microscopic ob servation that the hair of the Negro is not really " wool," and it presents no constant structural difference from the jet-black hair which is not uncommon among Europeans. It has lately been asserted, however, by Dr. P. A. Browne, of Philadelphia, that the following definite structural differences do exist : —" The hair of the white man presents an oval section ; that of the Choctaw and some other American Indians is cylindrical ; that of the Negro is eccentrically elliptical or flat. The hair of the white man, besides its cortex and intermediate fibres, has a central canal, which contains the colouring matter, when present. The wool of the Negro has no central canal, and the colouring matter is diffused, when present, either throughout the cortex, or this and the intermediate fibres. In hair the enveloping scales are comparatively few, smooth of surface, rounded at their points, and closely embrace the shaft ; in wool they are numerous, rough, sharp-pointed, and project from the shaft. Hence the hair of the white man will not felt ; the wool of the Negro will." Now, upon this it may be remarked that neither of the characters speci fied by Dr. Browne will stand the test of extensive observation. The form of the shaft, as shown in transverse section, varies greatly in the hairs of the same race, and even in those of the same individual ; for not only is it sometimes round, sometimes oval, and (though more rarely) eccentrically elliptic or nearly flat ; but it may be even reniform, or channelled on one side, a variety of which Dr. Browne takes no notice, except as oc curring in the Hottentot. The central canal of the hair, which is occupied by medullary cells, is an extremely variable character ; being often undistinguishable in the hair of the white races. Moreover, the pigmentary matter is sometimes almost exclusively con fined to the cells of the central canal ; some times it is equally diffused through the whole fibrous substance forming the shaft of the hair : and sometimes we have even seen it in greatest abundance towards the periphery, the centre being pale. Hence the elliptical section, the absence of "central canal," and the diffusion of pigmentary matter through the hair, are not in the least degree peculiar to the Negro, and cannot be regarded as characteristic of his hair. So, again, the writer takes upon himself to assert that there is not a greater difference in the degree of serration on the surface (which is due to the imbricated arrangement of the scales forming the cortical layer) between the hair of the Negro and that of other races, than exists among the individuals of any one race ; and that the Negro's hair does not approximate more closely to wool in this respect, than the Negro's cranium does to that of the chim panzee. The only constant peculiarity of the Negro's hair is the tendency to a close curl ; and this seems connected with its form. As a general rule it may be stated that the roundest hairs curl least, and that those which show most flattening are the most disposed to curvature in their growth. But that there is something also in the nutrition of the hair which influences its mode of growth, appears from the following fact stated by Mr. Erasmus Wilson as the result of extensive observa tions : — " I have collected several instances in which the hair, naturally possessing a strong curl, becomes lank and straight if its pos sessor be out of health ; the straightness of the hair becoming as certain an index of a disordered state of the economy, as a yellow eye-ball or a white tongue." Now if we attempt to apply the texture of the hair to the discrimination of races, we find that although it has a certain value as affording a character of general applicability, yet that this will not bear being carried too minutely into particulars. Thus, among the African nations, there are many whose affinity to the Negro race cannot be questioned, and which yet have merely " crisped " or "friz zled" hair, instead of a woolly covering ; and there are others which cannot be shown on any other grounds to have a different descent, among whom the hair is long and flowing. On the other hand, we not unfrequently meet with individuals among the Anglo Saxon race, in whom the hair is not merely curly, but "frizzled," and almost " woolly" in its texture. Among the Oceanic races, again, there is every gradation of the same kind ; and great varieties present themselves within the limits of any one tribe. Here, too, the influence of external conditions shows itself in a very marked degree ; for it is among the inhabitants of the lower levels bordering on the sea, between the tropics, who are most exposed to the vertical rays of the sun, their climatic conditions being nearly allied to those of the Negro, that the "woolly" character most remarkably shows itself ; whilst in other tribes of the same race, which are not less prognathous, but live in higher and drier situa tions, the hair is only " frizzled," or even becomes long and wavy. Even if, as Dr. Prichard justly remarks, the hair of the Negro were really analogous to wool, it would by no means prove the Negro to be a peculiar and separate stock, unless the peculiarity were constantly presented by all the nations of similar descent ; and were restricted to them alone ; for, as already pointed out, there are breeds of domesticated animals which bear wool, whilst others of the same species, under different climatic influences, are covered with long straight hair. It is not unimportant to notice, that wool is occasionally borne by the dog, ox, and hog, to neither of which it is natural ; whilst the sheep, whose ordinary covering is composed of it, occasionally ex change it for long straight hair. These facts so unequivocally prove that the texture of the hair is peculiarly liable to be influenced by external conditions, that it could only be on the strictest proof of invariability, that such a character could be properly adopted as a basis for specific distinction.