2o8 



The Journal of Hereditv 



and a scienc of government compar- 

 able to the sciences of nature that 

 have already done so much for 

 man's advance. Probably the chief 

 criticism that will be brought against 

 this book will be from those who do 

 not believe that present democratic 

 governments are quite as bad as Mr. 

 Ireland paints them. Perhaps they 

 are not, but at least they might be 

 better. And thev will become better 



if the\' face the facts of science and 

 if those who control them make every 

 possible use of all the humanistic 

 sciences that are making so much 

 progress at the present time. For this 

 reason, "Democracy and the Human 

 Equation" is a distinct contribution 

 towards a better state of things, 

 towards that eugenic ideal, when the 

 best shall survive, and the best 

 shall govern. 



AVERAGE HEIGHTS AND WEIGHTS OF CHIL- 

 DREN UNDER SIX YEARS OF AGE 



During Children's Year, the second 

 year of the participation of the United 

 States in the World War, the Childen's 

 Bureau conducted a series of campaigns 

 designed to focus public attention 

 upon the welfare of children. Among 

 these campaigns was the "weighing 

 and measuring test." During the per- 

 iod devoted to this test great numbers 

 of children for the most part under 6 

 years of age — in all parts of the 

 United States, were weighed and 

 measured. Record blanks were fur- 

 nished by the bureau, and when the 

 children were brought for examination 

 entries were made of height, weight, 

 age, sex, and race, besides particulars 

 of country of birth of father and mother, 

 and physical condition of the child. 



As a result of this campaign the 

 bureau received over 2,000,000 records, 

 and was thus in possession of a larger 

 mass of anthn^pometric material relat- 

 ing to children of these ages than was 

 ever before axailable. Consultations 

 were held with anthropologists, statis- 

 ticians, and pediatrists, and plans of 

 tabulation were prepared in accordance 

 with recommendations made by the 

 authorities consulted. 



A careful selection was made of 

 approximately one-twelfth of the cards 

 which had been received. The basis 

 of selection was fourfold: (1) The 



record card must have been signed by 

 a physician; (2) no serious defects 

 should have been noted; (3) the child 

 must ha\'e been weighed and measured 

 without clothing; as verified by the 

 physician signing the card; and (4) 

 all essential items must ha\e been 

 answered. 



On the basis of these selected re- 

 cords, tables have been made showing 

 average weights and heights for chil- 

 dren of different ages and average 

 weights for children of different 

 heights. They are based upon meas- 

 urements of 167,024 white children. 



The children included in the tab- 

 ulation were 70 per cent of native 

 parentage; 6 per cent with one parent 

 native and one foreign born; 4 per 

 cent of British and Irish parentage; 

 and the remainder of Scandinavian, 

 Italian, and other racial stocks. They 

 represent children from every part of 

 (he coiMitr\-. The averages for white 

 children of native parentage agree very 

 closely with these averages for all white 

 children. 



The table shows average heights 

 and weights of boys and girls from 

 birth to 72 months of age. 



These aAerages represent, so far as 

 the original material permits, averages 

 based upon children without defects or 

 diseases. 



