November 



O' 



1910] 



NATURE 



II 



w ith a service of both fresh and sea water, and every- 

 ing else required for chemical, physical, and 

 ^logical study. In these laboratories the occupant 

 has all that a laboratory can supply, and at any time 

 tresh material from the sea, collected by one of the 

 small steam tenders of the museum. 



Anv notice of the museum of Monaco would be 

 incomplete without an acknowledgment of what it 

 owes to its director, Dr. Richard. None of the many 

 men of science who have enjoyed the hospitality, either 

 of the museum or the yacht, will require to be re- 

 minded of this, nor will they forget what they indi- 

 viduallv owe to Dr. Richard's never-failing courtesy 

 ind helpful aid. Personally, I have more thanks to 

 ler than I can express for the countless services that 

 has rendered me during our friendship of twenty 

 ars. The Prince was fortunate in being able to 

 lach him to his service in the early days of the 

 Ilirondelle. Since that time Dr. Richard has been 

 'lis never-failing aid and assistant. It is not too 

 uch to sav that without Dr. Richard's strenuous and 

 selfish work during these many years the museum 

 ■ , ith its rich collections and complete equipment would 

 not be, as it is now, the greatest Institution of the 

 kind in the world. J. Y. Buchanan. 



ENVIRONMENT VERSUS HEREDITY.^ 



'T^HE question of the assimilation of immigrants 



■*- under American conditions has long been looked 



■ ion as of vital importance, and it has been much 



^cussed, but heretofore with little accurate informa- 

 lon. Speaking from general personal observation, 

 people have thought that under the influence of the 

 existing educational, social, and political conditions 

 the immigrants gradually change their habits of 

 life and their ways of thinking, and thus become 

 Americans. The statement is often made that 

 American citizens tend to resemble the American 

 Indian, meaning thereby some generalised tvpe of 

 plains Indian, but this has never been put to scien- 

 tific test. Little or no thought, however, has been 

 given to the possible effect of the phvsical and social 

 environment on the phvsical type of descendants of 

 immigrants. The establishment by Congress of the 

 Immigration Commission in Februarv. 1907, gave the 

 opportunity for a thorough investigation of the 

 problems of immigration, and the inquiry into the 

 anatomical characters of immigrants and their 

 descendants was put under the direction of Prof. 

 Franz Boas, of Columbia University, than whom no 

 better selection could have been made. The present 

 short report deals with only a portion of the material 

 collected, but results obtained are of unexpected in- 

 terest and importance. 



The results so far worked out mav be summarised 

 as follows : — 



I. The head form, which has always been con- 

 sidered as one of the most stable and permanent char- 

 acteristics of human races, undergoes far-reaching 

 changes due to the transfer of the races of Europe 

 ro American soil. The East European Hebrew, who 

 has a very round head, becomes more long-headed ; 

 the south Italian, who in Italy has an exceedinglv 

 long head, becomes more short-headed; so that both 

 approach a uniform type so far as the roundness of 

 the head is concerned. Fig. i shows at 1 and i the 

 cephalic index of foreign-born Hebrews and Sicilians; 

 at 2 and 2 that of those born within ten vears after the 

 arrival of their mothers In the United States ; at 3 and 

 ^ that of those born more than ten years after the 



" Changes in Bodily Form '^f Descendants of Immigrants." The Im'ni- 

 \tion Committee, Document No. 2o3 presented to the 6ist Congress, 2nd 

 -ession. (Washington, D.C., U.S..\., iqio.) 



NO. 2140, VOL. 85] 



arrival of their mothers in the United States. The 

 diagram shows the very rapid approach of the two 

 types among children born shortly after the arrival 

 of their mothers in America, and the slower con- 

 tinuation of this approach among those born later. 

 Fig. 2 roughly indicates the general form of (i) the 

 foreign-born Hebrew, (2) the foreign-born Sicilian, 

 and (3) the average form of the head of the American- 

 born Hebrew and Sicilian-born more than ten years 

 after the arrival of the mother in America. 



2. The influence of .American environment upon the 

 descendants of immigrants increases with the time 

 that the immigrants have lived in the country before 

 the birth of children. 



3. The changes in head form consist in the increase 

 of some measurements and in the decrease of others. 

 The lentrth of the head of Hebrews is increased; the 

 width of the head and the width of the face are 

 decreased. Among the Sicilians the length of the 

 head is decreased, the width increased, but the width 

 of the face Is decreased. 



4. The differences in type between the American- 

 born descendant of the immigrant and the European- 



fiebretv — 

 ^iciliart 



Fig. I. — Comparison of head form of Hebrews and Sicilians. At i is indi- 

 cated the head form expressed by the ratio between width and length of 

 head of foreign-born Hebiews and Sicilians; at 2, the same ratios of 

 those born wiihin ten years after the arrival of their mothers in the 

 United States ; at 3, the corresponding values ot tho>e bom more than 

 ten years alter the a- rival of their mothers in America. The diagram 

 shows the very rapid approach of the two types among children bom 

 shortly after the arrival of their mothers in America, and the slower 

 continuation of this approach among children born a long time after the 

 •arrival of their mothers in America. 



born immigrant develop in early childhood and per- 

 sist throughout life. 



5. Among the East European Hebrews the en- 

 vironment, even in the congested parts of the city, has 

 brought about a general more favourable development 

 of the race, which is expressed in the increased height 

 of body (stature) and weight of the children. The Italian 

 children, on the other hand, show no such favourable 

 influence of American environment, but rather a 

 small loss in vigour as compared to the average 

 condition of the immigrant children ; so that it 

 appears that the south Italian race suffers under the 

 influence of American city life, while the East 

 European Hebrew develops under these conditions 

 better than he does In his native country. 



6. The type of the immigrant changes from year to 

 vear, owing to a selection which is dependent upon 

 the economic conditions of the country. This is 

 shown by the fact that after the panic of 1893 a 

 sudden decrease in the general development of immi- 

 grants may be observed, which persisted for several 

 years. A similar change seems to have taken place 



