44 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANATOMICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL 



well in place, and so far as one can judge pretty normal in shape. 

 The scaphoid is displaced backwarks well under the head of the 

 astragalus, and the cuneiform bones are also turned under the 

 scaphoid, with the result that the metatarsal bones are almost vertical 

 in their long axes. The metatarsal bones themselves are pretty 

 normal in length and shape, and are only changed in position. The 

 phalanges of the great and second toes articulate with the heads of 

 the metatarsal bones on their dorsal aspect, and thus the toes make 

 little more than a right angle with the metatarsus. 



Now let us consider how this distortion is brought about. There 

 is very little reliable information to be had with regard to the custom. 

 All that I have been able to get has been from such unreliable 

 sources as the writings of globe trotters and stray references in the 

 writings of missionaries. The process begins when the girl is from 

 five to eight years of age, and is attended with excruciating pain. 

 Long strips of calico about two inches wide are prepared, and the 

 process starts by turning in the four outer toes under the great one, 

 and bending the whole back towards the heel, the bandages holding 

 the foot in position. The bandages are gradually tightened every day 

 in spite of the agony of the poor girl, and the instep becomes more 

 and more convex, and a chasm is formed between the heel and the 

 front of the foot. This is persisted in until the foot has been suffi- 

 ciently compressed to be put within the narrow confines of the shoe. 

 Even after this, the feet must be kept constantly bound else they 

 would gradually expand to their natural proportions. 



The feet which we have here have expanded very considerably 

 since having been removed from the body, as the shoes worn during 

 life cannot now be put on. While the process of shaping the feet is 

 -'ing on the girl is unable to move about, and it may be two years 

 before she can walk. Even after that, the walking cannot be called 

 elegant, as owing to the rigidity of the foot the person walks as if on 

 stilts, but in spite of that, she can get along the badly paved streets 

 with wonderful rapidity. 



One asks, why is this cruel custom practised? At present it is 



