PHYSICAL CHARACTERS IN MAN 79 



Pennsylvania. He shows that the condition was 

 inherited as a simple Mendelian dominant, the off- 

 spring of the affected mated wdth normal giving 

 50 per cent, of each type (thirty-six affected, thirty- 

 three normal). Brachydactylous w^omen cannot play 

 the piano well owing to their inability to span the 

 octave. Brachydactylous men in this family include 

 farmers, mechanics, business men, and school teachers. 

 One was head of a commercial school and a fine pen- 



FiG. 13. — Brachydactylous and Normal Hands for 

 Comparison. (After Drinkwater.) 



man, another was a baseball catcher. The arms and 

 legs are short, but the sitting height is nearly normal, 

 and abnormals are stouter than their normal sibs.* 

 There is an unverified tradition in the family that the 

 first member with short fingers came from Normandy 

 in the army of William the Conqueror. Brachy- 

 dactylous individuals have never intermarried; but 

 the abnormals always marry first, and will soon 

 have gained a generation in this way. This was the 



* That is, brothers and sisters. 



