1922.] Indian Science Congress. L.8.C. 155 
tuting physical characters for classification. Anthropometry 
chiefly comes in for head-form and nose, which in India are 
rendered artificial by the prevailing manners and customs. 
There is a wide spread custom of moulding the head and nose 
according to notions of supposed beauty. Walcher has shown 
that in infancy the bones of the skull are so soft that it can be 
made longer or broader according as the child lies on its side or 
its back. What then, when midwives actually manipulate with 
the head and nose to put them in proper order? In the 
western Punjab it is the almost universal practice to flatten 
the back of a baby’s head by making it lie on its back with its 
head resting an a hard surface. A very detailed and interesting 
account of this practice is given in the Baluchistan Census 
report, where it is stated to be extremely common. It is not 
less common in Central India though the Gond midwives do 
not seem to be partial to aquiline nose. They make the head 
all the same though they may not touch the nose. Nearly all 
people including Hindus do the same, the matter being at the 
mercy of the midwives’ notions of beauty. Among the Hindus 
the pulling of the nose to make it aquiline is very common, 
which renders the nose test as of little scientific value. On 
the Madras side, however, the custom of making the head and 
the nose has not been heard of, and one may expect some sort of 
uniformity, but Thurston tells us there is none. This result 
on the 
ple. 
loins and another on the head complete his costume. These 
are really substitutes for leaves; bark or skin formerly by oe “4 
r 
roofs. The household articles consist of earthen 
ing and keeping water and for distilling liquor, 
prohibited, a few gourds for cooling water, gri 
