The Descent of Man

influential in leading to this kind of reversion;
excepting perhaps with the negroes, who have
been reared during several generations in the
United States (23. 'Investigations into Military
and Anthropological Statistics of American
Soldiers,' by B.A. Gould, 1869, p. 568:—
Observations were carefully made on the hairiness
of 2129 black and coloured soldiers, whilst
they were bathing; and by looking to the published
table, "it is manifest at a glance that
there is but little, if any, difference between the
white and the black races in this respect." It is,
however, certain that negroes in their native
and much hotter land of Africa, have remarkably
smooth bodies. It should be particularly
observed, that both pure blacks and mulattoes
were included in the above enumeration; and
this is an unfortunate circumstance, as in accordance
with a principle, the truth of which I
have elsewhere proved, crossed races of man
would be eminently liable to revert to the primordial
hairy character of their early ape-like