VIII. _Villosities, beard, hair._ Villosities in man represent the hair of the mammalia; but whilst the latter are always covered, with the exception of some special races, such as _chiens turcs_, _calongo_ cattle, etc., man is generally only covered to any notable extent upon certain places. In the African Negro, and most of the yellow races, it only exists upon the normal parts of the body. Nevertheless the practice of epilation, which is common to a great number of coloured populations, has caused the frequency and intensity of this character to be exaggerated. Eckewelder represents Red-Skin warriors, in their leisure moments, as occupied in tearing out the smallest hairs with pincers especially made for the purpose. White races are generally more or less hairy, and this trait has long been known to be developed to a very exceptional degree among the Aïnos. The photographs of Colonel Marshall show that the Todas are their equal in this respect. In certain individuals among the latter the villosities form a real fur, especially on the lower limbs. Of all the villosities of the human body, those which cover the face and cranium have justly attracted most attention. All races have hair; but a considerable number in Asia, America, and Africa, have been noticed to be entirely without beards. Pallas, Humboldt, Brasseur de Bourbourg and Pruner Bey, have contradicted these assertions, and shown that the absence of beards is entirely due to careful _epilation_. All human races are more or less provided with a beard. Nevertheless great differences are known, even among races belonging to the same fundamental type. Certain Melanesian Negroes present a striking contrast in this respect to their African brothers. The hair of the head is much more constant in respect to quantity than that of the beard. Nevertheless it appears to be sensibly thicker among some arctic races, who have moreover a more abundant down than races in temperate climates. In this respect there is perfect agreement with the known facts among animals. With certain Negro races, the Bosjesmans of South Africa, the Mincopies of the Andaman Islands, the Papuans of Melanesia, and some African tribes, the hair forms upon the head small islands, separated by spaces which are perfectly smooth. Hence results the heads of hair _en grains de poivre_ noticed by different travellers. Amongst most African Negroes, and amongst the Yellows and the Whites, the distribution of the hair, on the contrary, is uniform.