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 relative permanence of various characteristics like the skin color, the cranium, the nose, or the physiological system. Until such a study is made it is vain to attempt classification on the basis of physical characteristics, excepting on differences great in themselves and generally admitted to be very persistent.

But if we accept the historical import of the word "race" that is, people descended from the same original stock, our researches should take a different direction. In this case what we desire is not the present similarities and dissimilarities, but we want to recover the history of human migrations and formation of races, In tracing this history, all information which measurements of skull, nose, face, height, section of the hair, complexion, language, culture could give would prove a useful data not for classification, but for the history. In short our study of races would be a study of the separations, migrations, isolations, convergances, and intermixtures of the members of mankind.

Whether the word "race" is applied to a group of people with the desired physical characteristics or to the peoples born of the same stock, it is not a matter of very serious consequence. Both the studies are of value, and the question of name is not of much importance. If the words "race" and "ethnology" should be given over to one of the studies there would not be much difficulty in finding new terms for the other.

Races in India.—Now to turn to the question of races in India and their relation to caste. Before examining the question, let me point out what I con-