OCR Rendition - approximate

280 REPORT--1883. REPORT OF THE, AhTRtlOPOMETRIC COMMITTEE. 281 49. In connection with this subject Table XI., showing the colour of eyes and hair in both sexes and at all ages, should be studied, as it shows the comparative worthlessness of the method often resorted to on the Continent of determining the racial elements of a country by examining the complexion of school children of different ages. The first column, referring to males (light eyes and fair hair), shows the gradual darkening of the hair of fair-complexioned children from 56 per cent. at the first five years of life to 33 per cent. at forty-five years ; and the second column (light eyes with dark hair) increases during the same period at nearly a corresponding rate, the percentage of dark hair being 9.3 in the first five years and 34 at forty-five years of age. Thus, 56 + 9.3 = 65 3, and 33 + 34 = 67, or only 1.7 per cent. excess of dark hair received from other sources, or due to probable error of observation. In like manner the green and light-brown eyes of the middle column of the table decrease in number, or in other words become darker, and are transferred to the next column ((lark eyes and dark hair) as age advances, from 15 per cent. at: the first five years to 6 per cent: at forty-five years of age. The fifth column (dark eyes and hair) increases at the expense of the two adjoining columns from 15.5 per cent. at three and four years to 36 per cent. at twenty-nine years, after which ago the percentage falls oil' very rapidly on account of the earlier accession of grey hair in the dark than the fair complexion of the first column, to which the higher percentages become transferred. The low percentage of dark complexion at ages from forty to seventy years does not arise from the elimination of this complexion by advancing age, or by death, but from the fault of the observers not having recorded the original colour of the hair before it became grey, which necessitated the rejection of all such returns in drawing up the table. 50. The table referring to females shows that darkening of the hair and eyes takes place to a much less extent amongst them than among males, and that there is little disposition for the dark hair to turn grey with advancing ago. For corresponding periods to those applied to males, the fair-complexioned females in the first column lose 3'8 per cent. of their number, while the second column receives an accession of dark hair of 4.7 per cent. The dark-complexioned (dark eyes and hair) females in the fifth column increase by 8.6 per cent., at the sole expense of the sixth column, by the darkening of the hair. Unlike the males, the column showing the neutral eyes somewhat increases instead of decreases; and this increase appears to have come from the column containing the fair eyes and red hair, or it may be attributed to the difference in the 'colour equation' of sonic of the observers-women being much more critical, and therefore less consistent, than men in the definition of colours. NOTE-Dr. lieddoe proposes the use of indices of nigrescenee for the classification of this colour of hair an(( eyes. ' That for (lie hair is got by subtracting the fair and the red from the dark hair pins twice the black, leaving out the neutral browns, thus ;- 2 Black (N) + Uk. Br. - Fair -- lied = Index. The black hair is doubled, because its occurrence shows a much greater tendency to melanosity. The index for the eyes is got by subtracting the light from the dark and neglecting the neutral shades, thus: - Dark - Light = Index.' (: Robfa t c