34 



Anthropological Investigations. 

 Colored Children. 



The proportions, it can be seen, show no very great variations. 

 The maximum of abnormalities is encountered in children of both 

 sexes at the ages of 8 and 9. In the female another maximum 

 was observed at 14, but this latter is in all probability an incorrect 

 figure, due to a small number of subjects involved. After 9 years 

 of age the proportion of abnormalities to every child drops suddenly 

 and further on shows only insignificant variations. 



We do not encounter the same proportions of the same abnor- 

 malities in the children of different ages. In the younger children 

 there will predominate abnormalities of the teeth, of the gums, of 

 the face and of the lower limbs. The younger the child is, the more 

 frequently we find irregularities in dentition, massive gums, mon- 

 golic folds at the inner corners of the eyes, low nose, and curvatures 

 of the lower limbs. Curvatures of the long bones will diminish with 

 the age of the children and may finally almost disappear. 



Mongolic folds at the inner canthi of the eyes are very much 

 more common in infants than they are in children above 6 years 

 of age, and eventually they also will disappear, except in a few 

 female subjects where they may persist throughout life. Massive 

 gums are the normal condition in very early childhood. After 8 

 years of age, and probably a little sooner, they can be considered 

 abnormalities. As we go on with the age of the children, massive 

 gums become less and less frequent, and after the puberty period 



