As examples in which there is historical evidence of alteration in the texture and mode of growth of the hair, it will be sufficient to refer to the case of the Barabras already cited, whose hair, originally woolly, has be come longer and straighter, only retaining a slight crispness ; and to that of the Western Turks, whose chins are furnished with flowing beards, in which their Eastern relatives are almost entirely deficient.
The greatest peculiarity in the growth of the hair is exhibited by the Hottentot race. The following account of its appearance in a young Bushman, who recently died in the United States, is given by Dr. Parsons*: " His hair lay in little distinct, compact, curly tufts, twisted spirally ; and in the intervals of these tufts, the skin was distinctly seen. The filaments were very fine, some of them five inches long, and black. They contained a distinct cortex and granular medulla. The transverse section of a filament resembled that of the Negro's, except in being concave on one of the two longer sides of the ellipse," or reni form. Thus, in the texture of the hair itself, the Hottentot seems allied to the Negro, whilst its sparseness reminds us of the scanti ness by which the Mongolian races are gene rally characterised. We shall hereafter see, that there is strong reason for regarding the Hottentot race as of kin to the Negro ; and for attributing the Modification which it has undergone to the external conditions of its existence. The peculiar character of the cherelure of the Papuans, which will be no ticed in the account of that race, seems to be chiefly due to its artificial treatment.
From the Anatomical portion of our inquiry, then, we are led to the general conclusion, first, that no such difference exists in the ex ternal conformation or internal structure of the different Races of Men, as would justify the assertion of their distinct origin ; and, secondly, that although the comparison of the structural characters of races does not furnish any positive evidence of their descent from a common stock, it proves that even if their stocks were originally distinct, there could have been no essential difference between them, the descendants of any one such stock being able to assume the characters of an other.
Of the next subject for investigation, the Physiological conformity or diversity of the several races of mankind, a much briefer sum mary will be sufficient. This part of the in quiry has been pursued with great diligence and success by Dr. Prichard*, who lays it down as a general axiom (the truth of which must be admitted by all who are competent to form an opinion on the subject, its validity being confirmed by the careful study of those races of domesticated animals which are re markable for the greatest amount of anatomi cal variation), that the great laws of the vital functions, such as those expressing the periods and duration of life, the economy of the sexes, and the phenomena of parturition and repro duction, are, with slight deviations resulting from external agencies, constant and uniform in each particular species ; whilst there are usually decided differences in regard to the same peculiarities among races of animals, which, though nearly resembling each other, are yet specifically distinct.
Now, taking the average duration of lip as the first point of comparison, it has been shown by Dr. Prichard, that, whilst there is a marked difference in this respect between man and the highest apes—the full term of exist ence of the chimpanzee being stated by M. Lesson at not more than thirty years, and that of inferior species being less,— there is absolutely no difference among the several races of mankind, the extreme age of the Negro and American races being at least as great as that of the European, with the same average duration of life under the same cir cumstances as regards climate, mode of life, &c.
The age at which the body attains its full development, also, appears to be the same amongst different races ; or, at any rate, does not differ more than among the different indi viduals of the same race. The inquiry into the epoch of the first menstruation has been most industriously prosecuted by Mr. Ho berton ; and its results, published from time to time, as they were obtained, have been lately collected in a form which admits of easy comparison.* It appears, from the evidence which he has brought together, that there is no considerable difference either in the average period of puberty, or in the earliest date of menstruation, among the greater number of tribes who are scattered over the whole of the habitable globe, from the equatorial to the polar regions , and that neither has a cold climate that influence in retarding it, nor a warm one in accelerating it, which is popu larly attributed to these agencies respectively.
The only well-marked exception to this general rule, occurs in the case of the Hindoo females, among whom the first menstruation occurs on the average about two years earlier than in this country. But this only arises from the fact, that a larger proportion of first menstru ations among Hindoo females, takes place in the earlier years of that period, over which the commencement of puberty is distributed in European females, the distribution in the latter being more equable, as will be seen by the following table, furnished by Mr. Rober ton:— For whilst the average age of puberty in the Hindoo female is thirteen years, and in the British, fourteen years eleven months, the percentage of menstruations under eleven years is nearly the same in the two countries, so that the current idea of the very early pu berty of Hindoo females is quite incorrect ; and the difference in the average solely arises from the fact, that the greatest number of first menstruations occur among Hindoo females in the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth years, whilst among the females of this country the larger proportion presents itself in the four teenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth years. Now this difference, as Mr. Roberton justly re marks, cannot be attributed to climate, for Demerara and the West Indian Islands have a higher mean annual temperature than Cal cutta and the Dekhan; and yet we know that the Negresses in these colonies are not earlier than the peasant women in England. A more probable cause, however, lies in the peculiar habits of the natives of that country, which tend, in more ways than one, to force forward the period of puberty. " It is the law of the Shastras, that females shall be given in mar riage before the occurrence of menstruation, and that, should consummation not take place until after this event, the marriage is a sin. Accordingly, it is the custom in Lower Ben gal to send the girl at the age of nine years to the house of her husband, unless the latter be so distant that it cannot be done ; and two ancient Hindoo sages are of opinion, that if the marriage is not consummated before the first appearance of the catamenia, the girl becomes degraded in rank.' At Bangalore it would seem that this revolting custom does not obtain, the husband refraining from taking his wife to his own house till not less than sixteen days have elapsed subsequently to puberty."* Now, it can scarcely be ques tioned that such a premature sexual excite ment will have a tendency to accelerate the epoch of puberty ; and that, when this is con stantly acting through a long succession of generations, an early puberty may come to be a character of race. But besides this modes operandi of the custom in question, the fol lowing has been pointed out by Mr. Ro berton : —" When it is recollected that the consummation of marriage among the Hiniloos has taken place, at the latest, on the arrival of puberty, during a lapse of more than three thousand years, and that the practice is sanc tioned by ancient laws and consecrated by custom, it is easy to conceive that those females who were latest in reaching puberty, would be the least sought after for wives,—that such women would not be unlikely, in many in stances, to remain unmarried,—and that thus (owing to the origination of a preference on this ground in the selection of their wives, operating through a long period of time) Hindoo women would gradually come to con sist, in a proportion different from that in Europe or elsewhere, of such as by constitu tion are early nubile. To me there seems no thing extravagant or far-fetched in this sup position. The production of a like state of things in England, in ally particular district, is quite conceivable. Nothing is better esta blished, than that early (or late) puberty is a family peculiarity. Let us, then, only sup pose families, possessing this kind of consti tution, to intermarry, and the peculiarity in question would be propagated, extended, and transmitted ; and so a race, distinguished by it, would be produced."1- It is a justification of this view, that the mean age of puberty should differ in Bengal and the Dekhan, to the extent of nearly a year, being twelve years six months in the former province, and thirteen years five months in the latter, notwithstand ing its warmer latitude ; for, as just stated, although formal marriages take place at a very early age throughout India, the custom is so far modified in the Dekhan, that consummation is not effected until after the first menstruation has appeared.