430 MORRIS STEGGERDA 



fully one must have unusual mechanical ability. See Eugenical News, vol. 

 16, No. 4, p. 58. 



Another study made from these data has just been completed and is called 

 "Finger Prints in a Dutch Family Series," written by Dr. Harold Cummins 

 of Tulane University. There were 1130 ringer prints upon each of which 3 

 determinations were made, e.g., pattern type, pattern size, and pattern 

 form. The type of pattern is designated by the following terms: whorls, 

 loops, and arches. It may be said briefly that there was a low incidence of 

 whorls (thus increasing the percentage of loops) and a high frequency of 

 arches. Pattern size is determined by ridge counting. Each print is then 

 grouped into a class depending upon the number of ridges counting from a 

 definite fixed point. This study is compared with various races. The mean 

 ridge count is 12.23 ±0.15, which is slightly lower than that found for Nor- 

 wegians and Hungarians. Pattern form has reference to the shape or the 

 ratio of the breadth to the height of the pattern. It may be said that the 

 mean form index is 67.51 ±0.59 and that the mean form indices of the sepa- 

 rate digits range from 85.78 ±1.33 to 58.10 ±0.87. Each of these deter- 

 minations is discussed at length in a paper which will be published in the 

 American Journal of Physiological Anthropology. 



Thus from these completed studies one learns the value of family his- 

 tories, provided the data are gathered with scientific problems in mind. 

 However, their greatest value will appear in 50 or 100 years when more gen- 

 erations will have been similarly studied, thus making it possible to analyze 

 the data over a longer period of time. 



