Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-06-07
tercourse has been hurt by temper or indiscre-
lion, or Incidence, and q word in season would
llgnt 1t, and perhaps make it better than before.


Ha1fle % Mana Problem Of Hum an
Tne gorilla has only very partially acquired
the ert ct position, and probably sits put little
In he attitudes common to man. But II de-
VEG ping anthropO1d ape were to grow more
more al more upon his back and sides, we
might naturally expect that the hair upon
those portions of his body would grow thinner
or the mammaiia as to dorsal and sternly p1-
losity would be completely reversed. This Is
Just n hat has probably happened In Ine case q
man. In proportion as he grew more erect, re
must have lain less and e u pom his sto mach,
and more and more upon his back or sides.
For ully developed man, with the peculiar SET
bis neck, face, and limbs, II Is almoss im IR
siDle rest upon his stomach. ON the otner
har d, all savage races lie far mole upon tnelr
bat ks than even Europeans with their SoiaS
CO, ches, and easy chairs for the natural Pc
itiOn Of savage man during his lazy hours Is 10
stretch himself on the ground in the sun, with
his eyes closed, and with his back pTopped,
whele possible, by slight mound OF Ine Wau
among negroes or South Sea Islanders must
have noticed how constant is this attitude Win
men, women and children, at every stray luie
manner In which human mothers must neces-
sarily have icarried their infants from very
early period in the development OF our race.
During the first eighteen months Of life the hu-
man Infant must always be held. Or laid. more
or less upon its back; and this position Will!
probably tend 70 check the development OF hair
upon JIlc uOISti dHu IdJcIdi ICgiouo ANCAt lCo
us ask what is the actual distribution OF hair
upon the body OF man. Omitting those por-
lions where the ornamental use OF hair has
specially preserved It, the most hairy region IS
generally, so far as my observations Co. the
fore part Of tie leg or shin. obviously this is
a region very little likely to come In contact
with external objects On the other hand, the
most absolutely hairless places are the palms
Of the hands and the SoleS OF the rect, AFTER
which come the elbows, and at long inter-
val the knees and knuckleS. The back IS very
hairless, and SO are the launches: But the legs
are more hairy than the body, both In front and
behind though less hairy on the calf than on
the shin. Now 1t will be obvious that both by
day and night we rest more upon our backs
and launches than upon our legs, the latter
being free when we sit down on a chair or
bench, doubled ia front OF us when we squat
on the ground. (the normal position Of SavageS,}
and thrown about loosely when we lie down.
Especially might we conclude that this would
be the case with early races, unembarrassed
by the weight Of bed clothes. As for the arms,
nary mammalian habit In being hairier on the
back than On the front; and this also is quite 10
accordance with our present suggestion, be-
cause the same differentiatfng causes have not
worked upon the arm as they work upon the
back ana legs. The peculiar position of the
anterior eXtremitieS In man, together with the
erect posture, makes the arms come much more
frequently into fr1cttonal contact with the body
or clothing on their inner than on their outer
surface. Hair grows most abundantly where
there is normally least friction, and vice versa.
1t may be noted, however, that while the first
joint of the fingers Is hairy. the second joint,
answering to the callosity Of the gorilla Is gen
orally bare.-IGrGnt Allen, in Fortnightly Re-
UicU.