The Groioth of Children. 91 



Western States have, at all ages from eighteen years upwards, 

 a greater average height than natives of the same regions 

 enlisting at home, thus approximating to the stature of the 

 natives of those States wliere they grew up and enlisted. 

 It was hoped at the beginning of this inquiry that it miglit 

 be possible to ascertain whether local conditions have a 

 similar effect on the size of growing children, but it has 

 been found impossible to collect data which will warrant any 

 positive conclusions on this subject. The only foreign nation 

 largely represented in this community is the Irish ; and all 

 attempts by correspondence with English statisticians to 

 discover any record of observations on the size of Irish chil- 

 dren in their native country have been unavailing. A com- 

 parison may be instituted between the children of the labor- 

 ing classes in England (see Table No. 20) and those of Irisli 

 parentage in this community (see Table No. 1) ; and the 

 difference shown by the curves on Plate X is, as far as 

 height is concerned, in favor of the Boston children ; while 

 in regard to weight the English children are at first heavier, 

 then lighter, and then again heavier than Boston children of 

 the same ag-es. Conclusions as to the effect of climatic con- 

 ditions on the size of growing children could, however, be 

 drawn from this comparison only on the assumption, first, 

 that among the laboring classes the size of Irish children does 

 not differ greatly from that of English children ; secondly, 

 that the children of Irish parents in this community belong 

 wholly, or in a large proportion, to the laboring classes ; and, 

 thirdly, that the condition of the laboring classes in this com- 

 munity is comparable, as to comforts of life, with that of the 

 laboring classes of England. None of these assumptions can 

 be safely made, and it must therefore remain doubtful to 

 what cause the difference of size between the two sets of 

 children (amounting at thirteen years of age to over two 

 inches in height) is really to be attributed. 



A comparison between the heights of boys of German 

 parentage in this city and that of growing boys in German 



