62 Heredity and Child Culture 



and charting is convenient for reference. 



The length of the new-bom baby is slightly 

 greater in the male than in the female. In 

 private practice, with healthy parents, the 

 length will average about twenty inches. 

 Growth in length is most rapid during the first 

 month, a little less so during the second month, 

 and rapidly decreases during each succeeding 

 month. During the first year there is a growth 

 in length of about eight inches, and in the 

 second year of about three and a half inches. 



Just after birth, the trunk, arms, legs and 

 head have peculiar conformations. The body 

 is of an elliptical shape, with the widest part at 

 about the centre over the liver, in the region of 

 the lower ribs. The two ends of the ellipse, 

 represented by the chest and pelvis, are rela- 

 tively small and not well developed. The arms 

 are stronger and better developed than the legs. 

 During intra-uterine life the baby is placed in a 

 sort of squatting position with the legs drawn 

 up and curled inward. This explains why the 

 legs of the young infant are not straight but 

 show a decided bomng inward. The soles of 



