32 Anthropological Investigations. 



shape of an oval, the higher the index the more the head is round. 

 In a general way all heads up to the index of 75 are termed long, 

 skulls from 75 up to 80 medium, and skulls above 80 short. This 

 explanation I think will add to the interest of the following curves 

 with those who have not had the opportunity to give special atten- 

 tion to anthropometry. 



A glance over the curves shows that the shape of the head presents 

 in most of the white families here shown a considerable variation. 

 This variation bespeaks a far advanced mixture of the families. In 

 the Irish, the Italian and the German such mixture dates from cen- 

 turies ago and may even reach to prehistoric times. Thus the Irish 

 people of to-day result from the mixture of the ancient inhabitants 

 of Erin with the short-headed Kelt and the long-headed Scotchman. 

 The Germans of to-day are a combination of old long-headed Teu- 

 tonic tribes and of the short-headed Slav and Kelt. The Italians 

 are principally a mixture of Romans and Greeks, of short-headed 

 Lydians, and of long-headed Teutonic branches. The variety in 

 the shape of the head among the American children is a result of the 

 mixture of almost all the human families, members of which immi- 

 grated here, and is taking place at the present epoch. 



The heads of the Russian and those of the Syrian children are 

 quite uniform, and these families of the white race are undoubtedly 

 purer than are any of those mentioned above. It ought to be re- 

 marked that the Russian children here represented were all except 

 one, Jews. 1 



The colored children show a large proportion of long heads. 

 Most of the subjects with the shorter heads are not of African de- 

 scent, but from the West Indies. 



