tripl,e;t caIvVEs. 269 



average birth weight of single lambs (of both sexes taken 

 together) is 7.8 lbs. while the average birth weight of twin 

 lambs is reduced only to 7.07 lbs. Vierodt^" gives for the 

 normal weight of the new-born human infant in round num- 

 bers 3250 gm. and for the weight of a single twin (regardless 

 of sex) 2501 gm. (Fesser's data) or 2185 gm. (Recht's data). 

 Again to consider multiple gestations of higher order, Wilking 

 (loc. ciY. )gives the following birth weight" for his case of 

 quadruplets 



Birth order and sex Weight 



I- ? 1347 gm. 



2. ? 1247 " 



3- c? 1347 " 



4-? 1332 " 



Total 5273 " 



Corresponding data for Bernheim's (loc. cit) case of quin- 

 tuplets are: 



Birth order and sex Weight 



1. S 1814 gm. 



2. J 1028 " 



3. S 1928 '^ 



4. c? : 1928 " 



5- S 2268 " 



9866 " 

 In these cases the single individual is obviously heavier than 

 it should be if it were to be strictly proportional 'inversely to 

 the number of young born together. In the case of the quin- 

 tuplets the total weight is more than 3 times that for a normal 

 single birth infant, as given by Vierordt. 



Similar relations hold for multiple births in cattle. In an in- 

 teresting paper based on data taken from the Simmenthal Herd 

 Book StrebeP gives the following data: 



Mean birth weight 3 calves 44 kg. 



" ? " 40 " 



" " " twins 70 " 



^"Vierordt, H. Anatomische, Physiologische und Physikalische Daten 

 und Tabellen zum Gebrauche fiir Mediziner. Dritte Auflage. Jena 

 (Fischer) 1906. pp. vi. and 616. 



^'I have transferred the weights as given in the original in pounds 

 and ounces to grams in this and the Bernheim quintuplet case, in order 

 to make the .figures more readily comparable with that from Vierordt 

 for the single birth. 



"Strebel, Die TaugHchkeit von Zwillingskalbcrn zur Zucht. Deutsche 

 Landw. Presse, Jahrg. xxxvl, No. 84, pp. 897, 898, 1909. 



