ANTHROPOMETRY 55 



cm. antero-posteriorly. For work among shorter peoples, and es- 

 pecially among children, the bench must be lower, the aim being for 

 the thighs of the subject to be flexed at right angles to the trunk. In 

 the field, any convenient well-made box may be used. 



The laboratory bench is stained light mahogany or other suitable 

 color, and varnished. It should be made of well seasoned wood, to 

 prevent appreciable changes in particularly dry or damp weather. 



5. Plumb and Level (Accessory). — When using an anthropometer, 

 various measurements on the body, such as the sternal height, shoulder 

 height, etc., may be taken direct, but unless the subject stands against 

 some vertical there are always chances of error owing to uncertainty 

 as to correctness of position. When using the Broca plane we may 

 get all these measurements in a simple and more accurate way with 

 the help of a small level and plumb. The level is made in the labor- 

 atory. It consists of a narrow glass tube, 16 cm. long, filled with 

 alcohol containing a small bubble of air, and marked with a red ring 

 at the middle. The plumb is a pointed piece of lead or other metal, 

 suspended on a strong linen or silk thread. The subject stands against 

 the plane in the same position as for the determination of stature; 

 the level is applied to the landmark from which the measurement is 

 to be taken, and held there horizontally by the left hand; the plumb 

 is then dropped to the floor, without any slack, and the thread is 

 pinched by the thumb nail and forefinger at the height of the lower 

 edge of the level. The subject then steps aside, and the measurement 

 taken is ascertained on the scale of the plane. The procedure is quite 

 simple. 



6. The Spreading Calipers {Compas d'epaisseur). — This is one of 

 the indispensable and most useful instruments in Anthropometry. 

 It is manufactured in several varieties. These are, (1) the small com- 

 pass of Broca, made by Collin in Paris, as well as — with slight modi- 

 fications — by Hermann in Zurich; (2) the standard larger compass of 

 the Paris Ecole d'Anthropologie, made for many years before the 

 war by Mathieu as well as by Collin, in Paris; (3) the Bertillon com- 

 pass, made by Collin; and (4) the Hrdlicka compass made in France 

 (Collin) and United States (Fig. 10). 



The several instruments differ in usefulness. The small compass 

 is more adapted for work on the skull than for that on the living, 

 although it is also used for the latter purpose. The larger standard 

 compass is an excellent instrument for ordinary anthropometric work 

 on the living, as well as that on the skull. The Bertillon compass is 



