480 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



THE HEIGHT AND WEIGHT OF THE CUBAN TEACHERS, 



WITH COMMENTS ON THEIR PHYSICAL STATUS COMPARED WITH THE 



AMERICANS. 



By Dr. DUDLEY ALLEN SARGENT, 

 HEMENWAY GYMNASIUM, HARVARD UNIVERSITY. 



WHEN the Cuban teachers were in Cambridge last summer, it was 

 commonly observed that they seemed to be smaller in size and 

 stature than our own American teachers and students. This impression 

 was undoubtedly favored by the peculiar manner in which some of the 

 Cubans wore their clothing. Many of the men had their coats cut in 

 at the waist, and wore them tightly buttoned about the waist and chest, 

 while the trousers were large and full, especially at the knee. This 

 gave the bodies of the men a lean and slender appearance. Most of 

 the women went without their hats when going to and from the recita- 

 tion halls, and, although many wore high-heeled shoes, the diminutive 

 stature was very apparent. 



In order to determine the facts as to the physical status of the 

 Cuban teachers, about a thousand (973) of them were measured and 

 weighed at the Hemenway Gymnasium at Harvard University during 

 the first week in August, 1900. As this work was undertaken in con- 

 nection with the regular work of the Harvard Summer School of Phys- 

 ical Training, the time that could be given to the measurements was 

 necessarily limited, and the height and weight were the only physical 

 observations taken and recorded. In order to facilitate the work, each 

 teacher was given a card to fill out, upon which were blank spaces for 

 his number, date of measurement, name, date of birth, and his own and 

 his parents' nationality. The cards distributed to the women were 

 pink in color; those given to the men were green. These cards were 

 brought to the gymnasium by the persons who desired to be measured, 

 and the height and weight, taken in inches and pounds, were entered 

 upon the cards, which were then left to be tabulated. Contrary to the 

 usual custom with American students, the height and weight of the 

 Cubans were taken with the clothing and shoes on. Three-quarters of 

 an inch were allowed for the height of the heel of the shoe, and six 

 per cent, of the total weight of each woman and seven per cent, of the 

 total weight of each man was allowed for the weight of the clothing. 

 The subtraction of the height of the heel of the shoe and the weight 

 of the clothing from the original height and weight as taken, make 

 these factors in the measurement of the Cubans comparable with the 



