March 23, 1922] 



NATURE 



389 



Growth and Sex-Factors of Racial Character. 



T a meeting of the Royal Anthropological In- 

 stitute held on February 28, Dr. W. H. R. 

 ivers, president, in the chair, Miss R. M. Fleming 

 a paper on " Growth and Sex-Factors in Racial 

 lysis." Her results were based on a large number 

 measurements made, for the most part, in Wales, 

 measurements in the case of the children having 

 ;n repeated at regular intervals. 

 Miss Fleming said periodic re-measurement of chil- 

 jn during growth shows that — 

 I. Boys and girls have different growth cycles as 

 regards features used in racial analysis ; 

 , Head breadth commonly increases more than 

 head length, so the cephalic index usually rises 

 during growth. Cephalic index of girls rises most 

 quickly between the third and eighth years, while 

 in boys it does so especially after the tenth year. 

 Changes of one unit in one year were general, 

 and larger changes frequent ; 

 The frequent darkening of hair and eye seen in 

 both sexes shows the same difference of period, 

 and also confirms the results of Pryor's work on 

 ossification of wrist bones ; 



There are clear correlations between facts of 

 physical growth and mental development, and 

 these correlations should influence educational 

 methods. 



British women show more development of pigment, 

 brachycephaly, and prognathism than do men. Sixty 

 per cent, of any normal sample of men have cephalic 

 index 75-79; nearly the same proportion of women 

 have indexes 77-81. Men outnumber women under 

 75 and women enormously outnumber men over 84. 

 Men have the glabella stronger and women the occiput 

 larger in most cases, but this does not account for 

 the difference, which is one of growth. 



Among the types noted are the following : * 

 a. Dark -haired, dark -eyed women, head length 

 181-193, head breadth 143-154, cephalic index 

 77-81, calvarium rather low, prognathism slight 

 or absent, forehead usually full, occipital promin- 

 ence marked and low. 



About 50 per cent, of the sample of women 

 studied possessed most of these characters, and 

 they were very marked among the Welsh people. 



This group corresponds with Fleure's group of 

 men of indexes 75-79, dark colouring, but the 

 women show greater heterogeneity ; 

 h. Dark -haired, dark -eyed women, head length 

 187-199, head breadth 137-148, cephalic index 

 76 or less. Bony development more marked 

 and head height greater than in "a," forehead 

 more often receding, prognathism often marked. 

 A reinote hill country pedigree is common for this 

 type, and one often finds flattened nostrils, deep- 

 set eyes, hair low on the forehead. A few are 

 darker in youth than later on. Intellectual dis- 

 tinction is frequent. 



c. Light - haired, light - eyed women, head length 

 180-192, head breadth 145-153, but measure- 

 ments a little lower in general than in "a" 

 and " h." Prognathism absent or very slight, 

 bizygomatic breadth small, face long, calvarium 

 finely arched, forehead often retreats, bones 

 strong, stature averages 3 inches more than in 

 " a " and " b." Type less frequent than " a " 

 and " b " among purely Welsh peoples. 



d. Fair longheads, very narrow, breadth about 

 132-137, low foreheads, slight build, low vitality. 



It is not suggested that this group has any 

 historical or racial significance. The fair and 

 dark broadheads have not yet been examined in 

 sufficient numbers to warrant discussion, especi- 

 ally as the analysis of male broadheads has not 

 yet proceeded very far. 



A discussion followed the reading of the paper, in 

 the course of which Prof. Parsons pointed out that 

 Miss Fleming's work corroborated the results which 

 he himself had obtained both as regards the con- 

 clusion that the breadth of head of women was 

 greater than that of men in the corresponding series, 

 and that women were darker. Prof. Fleure said that 

 Miss Fleming's work represented a real advance in 

 the attempt to provide a sure foundation for physical 

 anthropology, while it showed that the conclusions 

 of Prof. Boas as to the change in head form of im- 

 migrants in the United States were unsound. Several 

 speakers emphasised the importance of Miss Fleming's 

 results for the educationist in connection with the 

 classification and grading of children of both sexes. 



Mortality 



^"HE Privy Council Medical Research Council has 



^ published as the sixtieth of its Special Report 



Series a valuable memoir by Dr. Brownlee, the 



director of statistics of the council, on the use of 



death-rates as a measure of hygienic conditions (H.M. 



Stationery Office, 1922, 80 pp., 35. net). Some of 



the methods employed for that purpose are Ukened 



. Dr. Brownlee to those of the tailors of Laputa. 



;(,: divides the subject into two parts : (i) death- 



liitcs in general and (2) mathematical treatment, and 



illustrates it by 30 tables and 16 diagrams. On 



special points he has had recourse to Sir Alfred 



Watson, whose great experience in the construction 



of mortality tables must have been valuable. 



The crude death-rate on a large population 

 luires adjustment and correction. When appUcd 

 sections of the population, as to those dwelling in 

 certain districts or those engaged in specified occupa- 

 tions, the liability to error is greatly increased. The 

 method by which these are corrected is called 

 " standardising." 



For the purpose of life-tables the death-rate is 

 taken to signify the ratio of the number of deaths of 



NO. 2734, VOL. TO9] 



Tables. 



persons above any defined age, to the number living 

 above that age, in a stationary' population. They 

 show some disadvantage in using standardised death- 

 rates. So far back as 1875 the late Dr. Wm. Farr 

 was sensible of this difficulty, and devised a method 

 for meeting it, which Dr. Brownlee considers to 

 present great advantages. Prof. Karl Pearson held 

 that causes of death might be specially grouped to 

 correspond with periods of life. Dr. Brownlee gives 

 a re-drawing of Prof. Pearson's diagram (Trans. 

 Roy. Soc, 1894) representing the curves for infantile 

 mortality and the mortaUty of childhood, youth, 

 middle age, and old age respectively. 



The tables of Dr. Farr, based on returns from 1861 

 to 1870, provide information as to causes of death for 

 selected districts according to sex and age. Later 

 tables calculated by Mr. George King, the eminent 

 actuary, show that the same conditions .still hold. 

 Dr. Brownlee suppUes a table giving a summary of 

 observations in various districts from 1838 to 191 2, 

 and comparing the standardised death-rates with the 

 life-table rates for each observation. Though a 

 life-table death-rate is the criterion of ultimate 



