16 OBSERVATIONS AND MEASUREMENTS ACADEMY MEMBERS [Memo ™o?.xxui, 



Anomalies 



Major congenital anomalies were rare in the academicians. Only 7 of the 150 examined 

 members presented something noteworthy in this line, and in none of these could the abnormal- 

 ity be regarded as of a degenerative nature. The 7 cases are as follows: 



(1) In one member — a large patch of brown on a leg, below the knee. 



(2) In one member — markedly webbed toes (second and third) on each foot. 



(3) In one member — second right toe turning congenitally downward. 



(4) In one member —the great toes, both sides, showing considerably more than the 



usual separation from the rest. 



(5) In one member — outstanding ears. 



(6) One member never had any eyebrows, or but very little. 



(7) One member had four accessory nipples on the body. 



Some of these anomalies (2, 4, 7) are simple atavisms, others (1 , 5) are probably of more 

 recent hereditary nature, and some (3, 6) may be incidental or semipathological. 



Deductions From Observations 



A survey of the results of visual observations on the members of the Academy and their 

 comparison with those on a large series of old Americans at large, leads in the main to the 

 deductions given below. A direct comparison of the members with outsiders was somewhat 

 difficult, due to the much more advanced age of many of the members. A contrast of the 

 two groups within the Academy, namely those of old American ancestry and those of more 

 recent derivation, is imperfect due to uneven and not sufficiently adequate numbers. Not- 

 withstanding these drawbacks certain facts come out fairly definitely and are not without value. 

 They may be enumerated thus: 



Pigmentation of the skin. — The members of the Academy of old American extraction 

 showed smaller proportion of tan shades of the skin than the members of more recent European 

 derivation, and both groups showed less than the old American outsiders. The higher age 

 and higher general culture of the members have probably not influenced this showing. 



Pigmentation oj the hair. — The members of the Academy failed to present any pronounced 

 blonds or any true reds; and they showed decidedly fewer "lights" and more "darks" than did 

 the old Americans at large. An influential factor in this, however, was the advanced age of the 

 academicians; they gave the record of the ultimate pigmentation of the hair which in many of 

 the younger outsiders had not yet been reached; but that this may be the whole explanation 

 of the differences is doubtful. 



Pigmentation ojthe iris. — In color of the eyes the two groups of the members of the Academy, 

 and the old Americans outside, differ scarcely at all so far as the "pure" lights are concerned; 

 but of the darks the members of more recent European derivation show a slight excess over the 

 old Americans in the Academy, and are in turn exceeded by the old Americans at large. Age 

 has had some, but not all, of the influence in these connections. 



Pigmentation in general. — In full-fledged adults and before senility sets in, there are certain 

 correlations between the pigmentation of the skin, hair and the iris, but there are also exceptions. 

 A darker skin goes as a rule with dark hair and eyes; but dark and even black hair may exist 

 in the same individual with white skin, and even with blue, especially a dark blue, iris. Old age 

 disturbs all this. It is accompanied by a slowly progressive diminution of pigment production. 

 But the consequent "fading" or depigmentation affects the different parts concerned unevenly. 

 The hair of the head suffers earliest and most, the face and the iris next, the hair of the body, 

 and the skin still later. These processes have doubtless modified more or less the showings, 

 in these respects, of the many older members of the Academy. A direct comparison of the acade- 

 micians with the outsiders as to pigmentation would only be fully possible therefore if the 

 two groups either corresponded closely in age with each other or if only those who did so corre- 

 spond were compared. 



