204 keport— 1879. 



'The greatest difference in height is at 12 years, when it amounts to 

 about 4 inches ; the greatest difference in weight is at 17-18 years, when 

 it amounts to nearly 20 lbs. The full stature is attained earlier in the 

 professional than the artisan class ; in the former about the age of 21 

 years, and in the latter between 25 and 30 years. The American statis- 

 tics show that a slight increase in height takes place up to the 35th year. 

 The growth in weight does not cease with that of the stature, but con- 

 tinues slowly to increase in both classes up to about the 30th year. 



' 2. The relation between the height and weight of English-born and 

 American-born subjects. (Chart tracings No. 2 ; tables I. and II., columns 

 3, 4, and 5.) 



' A comparison of the average stature of the English and American 

 branches of the British race shows that they are nearly identical from 

 the age of 4 years to the period of full growth, but the weights differ at 

 the two ends of the curves. 



' In stature, between the ages of 4 and 8 years, the American exceed 

 the English by rather less than half an inch ; but this is, no doubt, to be 

 attributed to the fact that the English statistics during this period are 

 derived entirely from our town population. From 9 to 15 years the sta- 

 ture of the two branches of our race is the same, and from 16 to 22 it is 

 slightly in favour of the English. At adult life the Americans are a little 

 taller than the English, but the number of the English observations after 

 the age of 22 is not sufficient to determine this point accurately. 



' In weight, from the age of 5 to 10 years, the English exceed the 

 Americans, but this is probably to be attributed to the greater weight of 

 the clothes worn by the poorer classes in this country. At 12 the weight 

 is equal ; from 13 to 16 it is in favour of the Americans, from 17 to 19 of 

 the EngUsh, and after 20 years of the Americans. The number of obser- 

 vations for each age after 16 years of the Americans are too few to be 

 relied on. 



' Mr. Gould and Dr. Baxter have shown that, of the recruits for the 

 American Army those born of American parents are taller than those born 

 of English parents, and it has been inferred that a change has taken place 

 in the physical proportions of our race in that country. Dr. Baxter found 

 the average stature of the American-born recruits, between the ages of 

 30 and 35 years, to be 6822, the English-born 66-92, and the Irish-born 

 66-91 inches. But the difference in height is to be explained by the dif- 

 ference in the class from which the recruits were drawn. The English 

 and Irish being emigrants from this country consisted almost entirely of 

 the labouring and artisan class, which we find in this country has an 

 average stature of 66'95 inches ; while the American recruits were drawn 

 from all classes of the community by conscription. The average height 

 of all classes in England between the ages of 25 and 30 years is 68 - 00 

 inches, and of the corresponding ages in America 68T2 inches, and the 

 slight advantage which the Americans possess is probably due to the 

 very large number of observations (38,055) from which the average is 

 drawn, compared with the very small number of the English (142). 



' The averages of the stature and weight of the two great branches of 

 the British race being so nearly alike, I have deduced from tbem a typical 

 standard of height and weight for the whole British (Anglo-Saxon or 

 Anglo-American) race, which will be found in the 5th column of Tables 

 I. and II. This standard does not consist of any one of the nationalities 

 — English (and Welsh), Scotch, and Irish— of which our race is com- 



