824 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION J. - 
From these measurements I have prepared some tables. 
Table 1 shows the average weight and measurements of 
boys at each year of age from 8 to 15 years. 
Let us first study what it teaches us about the increase in 
height and weight. You see the result of my investigations 
graphically represented on Diagram A. 
The ordinates of the upper curve (the horizontal lines) 
express the average height for each age; the lower curve 
indicates the average weight of the boys; the row of 
figures on the lines of abscissas (the vertical lines) expresses 
the age ; the column of figures on the left the average height 
in inches (corresponding to the upper curve); and the 
column on the right expresses the weight in pounds (corres- 
ponding with the lower curve). On comparing these lines 
you will notice that years of accelerated growth in height 
are also noted by a corresponding increase in weight. You 
will also notice the fact that years 11 and 14 show very 
retarded growth both in height and eigen, while the year 
15 shows the greatest g erowth. 
It is interesting how closely our boys in this respect follow 
other races. Dr. Seaver (an American), who is one of the 
first duthorities on anthropometry, says—‘‘ The period of 
the fourteenth year is a period of retarded growth, and is 
immediately followed in the fifteenth year by a period of 
greatly-accelerated growth, this being the period of prepu- 
bertal acceleration, and the retardation is seen to be as 
fully marked as the acceleration.’’ This is true in the 
growth of the Tasmanian boys. 
Diagram B shows the average annual increase in height 
for each year of Tasmanian boys during the period of 
observation. You will notice that increased growth during 
year 15 is large enough to make up for the retardation in 
the previous year. From this chart you see that the in- 
crease does not take place in regular mathematical progres- 
sion, a fact observed by all writers on the subject. The 
average annual increase in height for all the years is 1-10 
inch. A period of prepubertal acceleration of growth has 
been noticed by most students of anthropometry, and the 
tables of English, Swedish, German, and Italian writers 
confirm it. A point worthy of notice is that the very com- 
plete investigation of the health of European school children 
" eem to prove that during the period of feebler development 
oa ypeeceding the period of puberty the percentage of children 
willatig from ill-health is greatest. Professor Axel Key, of 
