The Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, Ohio) 1853-1861, 1856-06-07
THE NATURAL HISTORY OF MAN
LECTURE No. 4.
BY r. II. H., NJ d,

Bl H. IL H. NJ W.
Different udricties Of tie human race.
The color of the skin forms very constant
here ditaIy character, most clearly influenced
by that of both parents in the hybrid offspring
of different varieties, having close and near
ly uniform relation to that Of the hair and
iris, color of the eye and indeed to the whole
temperament of the individual; and for all
these reasons attracting most Immediately the
attention Of the cursory observer. The scat
of this color is in mucous sraum, interpoeed
between the cugice or dead surface Of the
body, and the tue skin, and called the rite
mucosum. The native reddish white of the
real skin rpeaIs through this, which is very
thin and almost colorless, in the white races
of mankind Bat in the darker varieties the
rite 0acosun IS much thicker and contains
throughout its substance a black pigment; /;
while the Gu cc anl CUTS deyiate but little
from the color which they have in fai: per
sons The different varieties Of mankind cx-
hbit every possible shade, betwecnthe snowy
wlitoness Of the European female, and the
jet black Of die negro The national varieties
Of color may be defined with sufficient accu-
racy in the five folloHing class s.
lst. White, yellow or olive; end, red or
copper; 4th tawney or brown, and 9th black.
Firstly-White, to Which rcdness of the
cheeks is almost wholly confined, being OBJ
served at least very rarely, if at all, in the
other varieties. This obtains in most of the
European natives, in the western Asiatics, as
the Turks, Goorgilns, Circassians, Mingre
lian,, Americans, Persians, &c, and in the
inhabitants, Of the Northern part Of Africa
Secondly-Yeow or olive "a middle tint be-
tween that Of wheat and the boiled ounce, or
dried lemon peel which characterizes tie
Mong 1lian tribes, usually called together
with the inhabitants of great part of Asia, }
Tartars.
Thirdly-Red, or copper color, (bronae
French or obscure orange, or rusty iron
color, not unlike the bank of the cinnamon
tree, almost confined to the native Ameri-
cans.
Fourthly-Tawny, or brown, (busini
French a middle tint between that of fresh
mahogany and cloves, or chestnuts,) belongs
to the Malays, and the inhabitants of tie
South Sea Islands
Fihhly-Black, in various shades from the
,so,ty color, or tawny black, to that Of pitch,
or Jet black. This is known to prevail very
extensively in the continent of Africa; it is
found also in different varieties Of the human
race, mingled with the national color, in Bra
zil, California, India and some S)uJh Sea
Islands, New Holland and New Guinea. In
these five varieties we fad strongly marked
tnts in which there is every conceivable in
termediate shade Of color The opposite eX-
tremcs run into each other in the most delicate
eradations. This forms no slight objection to
the hypothesis of different species On that
suppositioa we cannot define the number OF
SPECIES, nor point out the boundaries which
divide them. Animals which most resemble
each other, the different species are presery-
ed pure and unmixcd. Although the red
color is very prevalent on the American con
tinent, travellers have observed fair tribes ii
several parts, in Peru Nootka Sound, and
near the United States. The natives Of New
Zealand vary from a deepish black to an olive
or yellowish tingo, In the Friendly Islands
a complexion deeTer than the copper color
several of both sexes are OF the olive color
and women much f4ircr.
Climate has generally been regarded al
the cause of national color, and much la
been ascrbed to the light and heat o. the sun
+ Under the equator we observe the blacl
, color under the tropics the dalk brown ans
copper colors, and from the troPic OF cance
northwards, we discern the olive, changing
through every intermediate shade TO the ia,
and slnguine complexion. An European ex
, posed to the sun aud air, becomes brown j
. summer, and loses this color in a winters col
e every body has observed this process whic
is called tanning. The Asiatic and Africa
women, in the walls OF the seraglios are d
white as Europeans. while those exposed {