100 A BIOMETRIC STUDY OF BASAL METABOLISM IN MAN. 



seems desirable to eliminate the possible influence of age upon the 

 correlations between stature and total heat-production by using the 

 partial correlation formula 



a r th 



Vl-r* Vl- 



With such low correlations as those which have been demonstrated 

 between age and stature in Chapter III, the correction due to the 

 correlation between age and stature will be small. 



TABLE 33. Correlation between stature and total heat-production and partial correlation 

 between stature and total heat-production with age constant. 



The results are laid beside the gross correlations in table 33. In 

 the larger series of data the differences between the gross correlations 

 and the partial correlations are in no case as large as their probable 

 errors. The disturbing influence of age upon the correlation between 

 stature and total heat-production is, therefore, insignificant. 



Since stature and body-weight are known to be correlated charac- 

 ters (see Chapter III), it is clear that the correlation between stature 

 and total heat-production might be merely the resultant of the corre- 

 lation between weight and heat-production and weight and stature. 

 The fact that the correlation between stature and total heat-production 

 is consistently lower than that between weight and total heat-produc- 

 tion would, superficially considered, seem to support this view. 



To test the question critically we must have recourse to the partial 

 correlation coefficient between stature and heat-production for constant 

 body-weight. Inserting the values of the correlation coefficients for 

 stature and heat, weight and heat, and stature and weight in the 



