ITALIAN ANTHROPOMETRY. 423 



metres, one at from 200 to 400, and one at upwards of 400 

 metres. At much higher elevations (over 900 metres) the 

 case is not so clear ; but the number of recruits coming from 

 these very lofty tracts is perhaps insufficient. It is, how- 

 ever, somewhat disappointing to find that these variations 

 depend not purely on the elevation, but partly on the geo- 

 graphical position of the districts, i.e., that the low-lying 

 districts are in very large proportion situated in the high- 

 statured areas of the north, the mountainous ones in the 

 short-statured areas of the south and of the islands, or, in 

 other words, that at the different levels we are to a large 

 extent dealing with different races. Thus, Venetia, where 

 the stature is highest, has only 5 per cent, of its population 

 in districts whose chief towns are more than 400 metres 

 above the sea-level ; while Basilicata, the ancient Lucania, 

 has 86 per cent., the Abruzzi 65, Umbria 64, Sicily 43 and 

 Sardinia 32 per cent. When the rule is tested by its appli- 

 cation to the sixteen provinces separately, we find that only 

 ten of these conform to it, one (Piedmont) being neutral, 

 and five following the opposite rule. These five are 

 Venetia, where, as has been stated, almost the whole of 

 the population dwells on a low level, and Basilicata, Umbria, 

 Abruzzi, where the majority, and Sardinia, where a third, of 

 the inhabitants are above the 400 metre line. If Dr. Livi's 

 opinion be correct, that the low stature of the mountaineers 

 is due to poverty and insufficient food, these exceptions to 

 the rule might probably be accounted for with the help of a 

 better knowledge of the local social and sanitary conditions. 

 With a view to testing his opinion, Dr. Livi has further 

 ascertained the differences in stature between the students 

 and upper class conscripts arid the peasants, in the districts 

 of the sixty-nine chief towns. The result is pretty much as 

 might have been expected. In sixty-eight of these districts 

 there is a larger proportion of tall students (over 1 700 mms. 

 or about 67 inches) than of tall peasants ; and in sixty-three 

 there is a larger proportion of short peasants (under 1600 

 mms. or 63 inches) than of short students. The mean 

 stature of these two classes is not given, so that it is not 

 possible to ascertain the average difference between them, 



