ANTHROPOMETRY 35 



ceivably develop, by much reading and long practice, an efficient 

 system of his own, but only with much loss of time and many errors. 

 The work of self-instructed and insufficiently instructed observers has 

 ffiled the earlier anthropological literature with reports in which no 

 one is able to place full confidence, and such work has served to retard 

 rather than favor progress, as well as to create much undeserved 

 prejudice as to the value of anthropometry. 



Today a would-be anthropologist who is not known to have received 

 competent instruction in the generally approved methods of the 

 science, finds it hard to publish his results in professional periodicals 

 and hard to have it accepted by first class institutions; his efforts, 

 in fact, are often lost and he ends by becoming discouraged. 



Anthropometry deals with such a variety of conditions, and often 

 with so small differences of proportions, that of necessity it must be 

 reduced to a rigid system, which, while not beyond attainment from 

 mere reading and practice, is much more readily and satisfactorily 

 imparted to the student at a well-recognized anthropometric labora- 

 tory. Such laboratories are now available in this country as well as 

 in France and England, besides other countries. 



With proper instruments and proper instruction, and unyielding 

 sense of honesty, the worker in anthropometry must develop a habit 

 of minute care and accuracy, until these become automatic. Some 

 students appear to be incapable of acquiring these habits in sufficiently 

 effective form, and such students should give up anthropometry. In a 

 few the needed qualities are inborn and need only a direction; but in 

 most they must be developed. It is fortunate that the most careful 

 and accurate work brings the most pleasure, and is the best sustainer. 

 The student who gets tired of measuring the human form or even the 

 skeleton, is the one who has not been careful and accurate to the 

 limit of his possibilities. 



Accuracy and endless care do not, of course, mean absolute perfec- 

 tion — only its highest attainable degree. Our instruments will never 

 be so accurate or senses so precise, and our subjects or specimens will 

 never offer such forms, that an absolute precision may be obtained. 

 Time and again the student on repeating a most carefully made meas- 

 urement, will find a slight difference, an experience which at first 

 may be discouraging. But with the careful and well trained observer 

 such differences remain immaterial and never develop into unconscious 

 bias in any direction, as they are very likely to do with the less well 

 trained or less strict worker. 



