Dr. Beddoe, F.R.S., who delivered the annual Huxley Memorial Lecture
on Tuesday evening at the Society of Arts, took for his subject "Colour and Race." After pointing out the drawbacks in the way of observation and classification of colour—including artificial as well as normal changes-7 Dr. Beddoe observed that red used to be the prevailing colour of the hair in parts of Central Europe, but it was now a. greyish brown. The results of his own investigations went to show that red was the natural colour of man's hair in Europe, at any rate in his uncivilised state, the brown pigment coming later. As a sidelight on this point he mentioned that while Japanese, Chinese, and Egyptian children often had reddish or fair hair, there were no fair adult Chinamen, Japanese, or Egyptians. The phenomena observable in the British Isles could be generally accounted for by the intrusions of light. complexioned races from the North and East, the prior inhabi- tants having been more usually dark. As regarded the sup- posed connection between colour and temperament Dr. Beddoe gave a general support to this ancient doctrine, noting the preponderance of dark hair and brown eyes amongst criminals. That a change was going on amongst ourselves he had little doubt, and he regretted the suppression of the old blond lympho-sanguine stock by the darker and more mobile type, largely the offspring of the proletariat and more adapted to the atmosphere of great cities.
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