n
of these negroes, with their tremulous and weak eyes; he remarks that
they freckle easily. Buffon speaks of Ethiops with white twins, and
says that albinos are quite common in Africa, being generally of
delicate constitution, twinkling eyes, and of a low degree of
intelligence; they are despised and ill-treated by the other negroes.
Prichard, quoted by Sedgwick, speaks of a case of atavic transmission
of albinism through the male line of the negro race. The grandfather
and the grandchild were albinos, the father being black. There is a
case of a brother and sister who were albinos, the parents being of
ordinary color but the grandfather an albino. Coinde, quoted by
Sedgwick, speaks of a man who, by two different wives, had three albino
children.

A description of the ordinary type of albino would be as follows: The
skin and hair are deprived of pigment; the eyebrows and eyelashes are
of a brilliant white or are yellowish; the iris and the choroid are
nearly or entirely deprived of coloring material, and in looking at the
eye we see a roseate zone and the ordinary pink pupil; from absence of
pigment they necessarily keep their eyes three-quarters closed, being
photophobic to a high degree. They are amblyopic, and this is due
partially to a high degree of ametropia (caused by crushing of the
eyeball in the endeavor to shut out light) and from retinal exhaustion
and nystagmus. Many authors have claimed that they have little
intelligence, but this opinion is not true. Ordinarily the reproductive
functions are normal, and if we exclude the results of the union of two
albinos we may say that these individuals are fecund.

Partial albinism is seen. The parts most often affected are the
genitals, the hair, the face, the top of the trunk, the nipple, the
back of the hands and fingers. Folker reports the history of a case of
an albino girl having pink eyes and red hair, the rest of the family
having pink eyes and white hair. Partial albinism, necessarily
congenital, presenting a piebald appearance, must not be confounded
with leukoderma, which is rarely seen in the young and which will be
described later.

Albinism is found in the lower animals, and is exemplified ordinarily
by rats, mice, crows, robins, etc. In the Zoologic Garden at Baltimore
two years ago was a pair of pure albino opossums. The white elephant is
celebrated in the religious history of Oriental nations, and is an
object of veneration and worship in Siam.