336 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1946: 
of European racial types having like physical characteristics. Among 
the type designations are Mediterranean, Nordic, Alpine, Dinaric, 
etc. When these “imperfectly segregated and classified physical 
types, called by courtesy ‘racial’ types,” were sorted out of his three 
widely divergent series, Hooton found that their proportions were 
practically identical. He feels it is a very remarkable fact “that these 
types should show individually certain consistencies of a sociological 
nature, certain occupational and educational resemblances, whether 
they are drawn from the cream of the population, from the middle of 
the draught, or from its very dregs” (p. 26). Unfortunately, he does 
not seem to have followed up this finding to see whether it is an acci- 
dent of-sampling or indicative of the state of amalgamation in the 
melting pot. Yet inspection of the stature of criminals by States 
shows the same distribution as noted for soldiers of World War I; 
that is, for example, low in Massachusetts and high in Texas. 
Racial islands.—In all the foregoing, no mention has been made of 
anthropometric studies on communities here in America where Euro- 
pean national elements still live in pure form and tend to inbreed rather 
than interbreed with other groups. Strange as it may seem, although 
such groups are common knowledge, almost no effort has been made to 
study them. An exception is the work of Steggerda on the Dutch of 
Holland, Mich., carried out while he was with the Carnegie Institution. 
Unfortunately, although suggesting an increase in size for the Dutch 
born in America, this work was not altogether conclusive, perhaps on 
account of the inadequate numbers used (130). 
Another such group that has been studied is the Acadian French in 
Louisiana. Harley Gould found that the 100 men he examined were 
intermediate between Old Americans and the Acadian French of Can- 
ada. In other words, this French element in the United States has 
undergone some amalgamation. 
Insurance records.—Finally, mention should be made of the routine 
physical data assembled by insurance companies. The population - 
coverage presented by the insured is almost all that could be desired. 
However, the records include only two useful physical measurements, 
stature and weight, and these are taken carelessly. Stature includes 
shoes when actually measured and probably often represents a guess; 
weight is taken with clothing. Thus far the insurance companies have 
been deaf to the plea of the American Association of Physical Anthro- 
pologists for a reform of technique. A simple change here would give 
an invaluable check on a fundamental biological problem. 
DISCUSSION 
This review proves, I believe, as stated in the beginning, that we know 
surprisingly little about the new American physical type. The vague- 
ness and evasiveness of the pronouncements regarding the evolving 
