44 CARL SCHIØTZ. M.-N. Kl. 



being able to present any positive proof, we should yet keep that posi- 

 bility in mind, that the "race" or the "race-crossing", respective the 

 generic heritage of the higher school material concedes more slimness 

 or slenderness. The author anyway Avishes, that these two momenta — 

 the quicker groivth by itself and an eventually inherited slenderness — • 

 should be mentioned, and that another explanation uttered by P f a u n d - 

 1 e r, should not be admitted as a wholly plausible explanation and thereby 

 stiffen into a dogma. Pfaundler emphasizes the smaller weight-height 

 proportion at the higher school as a defect or doubtful advantage, speaks 

 about a possible onesided accelerated height-weight eventually on account 

 of a too strong diet of albumen. This explanation — which is of course 

 only a possibility for an explanation — does not satisfy the author of 

 the present work. Firstly, the difference in index between the two kinds 

 of schools is worth considering only for a certain time and only for boys; 

 a vigorous leveling takes place toward 14 years. Secondly, subjective 

 judgment and experience do not tell in favour of any unhealthy pro- 

 pidsion at the higher school. JJlioi zve compare the corresponding year 

 classes from the higher school and from the public school, there can be 

 no doubt zvhatever, zvhere we find the most sig>is of health and the hale 

 and hearty development, and where we find the unhealthy hampering. 



Variability in the weight-height proportion. 



Distribution series are presented on table 14, corresponding curves 

 on fig. 16 a and b. Although it is very conspicuous that a couple of the 

 curves, those for 10 and 12 years boys, approach very near to the ideal 

 binomial curve, it is yet, after a complete survey — and especially for 

 the girls - — plain that the variability-breadth tozvard the plus-side is 

 larger than tozvard the minus-side (what we also found for the absolute 

 weight). 



We shall at once proceed to the numeric expression for the vari- 

 abilit}' — the standard deviation and coefficient of variability (table 13 

 and the curve fig. 17). Just as for the absolute weight, the girls vary 

 more than the boys in all years until 14 in the case of the public school. 

 The results are not presented for the higher school, as a test which has 

 been made seems to suggest that the material is not large enough. The 

 computation itself of the index seems to convey the necessity for a very 

 large material in order to attain a so far obvious evenness in the course 

 of the year curve, that we may feel safe. 



In regard to the average coefficient of variability for index in the 

 age 7 to 14 years, it is for boys 8.28, for girls 9.42, — thus forming, 

 as might be expected, a medium between the numbers on page 26 for 

 the absolute height and the absolute weight. 



