84 American Statistical Association. 



the normal height is, however, clearly pointed out by this 

 writer,* and is regarded by him as the cause of the small 

 stature of sailors as compared with tliat of soldiers of the 

 same age and state of enlistment. A similar conclusion in 

 resrard to tlie aofe at which the full stature is attained has 

 been reached by Dr. Baxter,! as the result of an examination 

 of the records of the Provost-Marshal-General's Bureau. It 

 would, however, be manifestly unsafe to argue with this 

 writer % that " if comfort and plenty do not hasten growth, 

 but, on the contrary, coexist with an unusually tardy and 

 prolonged development of it, as is shown to be the case in the 

 United States, it is fairly to be inferred that they exert little 

 if any influence in increasing the stature"; for a prolonga- 

 tion of the period of growth must necessarily result in an 

 increased stature unless the rate of growth is at the same 

 time proportionately diminished, and that comfort and plenty 

 should have the latter effect is not only in itself highly im- 

 probable, but is opposed to such evidence as we have on the 

 subject. Moreover, Dr. Baxter has himself shown § tliat of 

 the 501,068 individuals, the records of whose examinations 

 are preserved in the Provost-Marshal-General's Bureau, the 

 natives of the United States are taller than those of any otlier 

 country. He calls attention || also to the fact that natives of 

 foreign countries enlisting in the United States have a greater 

 average height than natives of the same countries enlisting 

 at home. He is inclined, however, to explain this circum- 

 stance by a difference in the average age of the individuals 

 measured ; but Dr. Gould^ has shown that, making allowance 

 for differences of average age and of minimum limit of stature 

 for military service, in different countries, the conclnsion is 

 unavoidable that natives of European countries who enlist in 

 America are, on the average, taller than those who enlist at 

 home. In searching for the causes which give to Americans, 

 and even to persons growing up in America, though not born 

 there, this superiority of stature, it seems not unreasonable 



• * Op. cit., p. 132. t statistics Medical and Anthropological. W.ashinoton, 1875. 



X Op. cit., p. 20. § Op. cit., p. 23. || Op. cit., p. IG. U Op. cit., p. 180. 



