THE BENGUET IGOROTS. 419 



tion and habitat may influence it in the individual, but this is not 

 transmitted to the offspring. City life reduces stature, but attracts tall 

 men, so that the one balances the other. The tall, hardy pioneer survives 

 in the mountain, but poor nutriment causes a decrease in height; hence 

 a similar balance is, found there. However, these influences act only 

 on the individual and if they become hereditary it must be after count- 

 less generations. 



Racial differences in stature are characteristic and persistent. Tlie Malays 

 are everywhere inclined to be short, and the Polynesians are inclined to tallness. 

 The Scotch are the tallest people of Europe, the southern Italians are almost 

 dwarfs; the first live in the mountains and the latter inhabit the coast. The 

 Adriatic has a body of very tall people along its northern borders, but the 

 mountains of middle Europe are inhabited by short individuals. The Teutonic 

 people have retained their height wherever they have gone. The inhabitants 

 aloiig the shores of Brittany, which were ravaged so fiercely by these northern 

 barbarians, are taller than the people of the interior. The valleys south of 

 Germany (Tyrol) have been infiltrated by the tali invader, leaving the .short man 

 in the mountains. 



Many other instances could be cited to prove that stature is incident 

 to race, but as the weight of evidence is in favor of this, the burden of 

 proof rests with the opposition; as well argue that long heads are due 

 to mountain height, because long-headed Igorots are found high up in 

 the mountains, as to say that short stature is due to high altitude, or 

 vice versa. However, it may be that stature, like so many other charac- 

 ters, becomes altered by environment in the life of a single individual, 

 but the altered condition is not transmitted, until, through countless 

 generations in the same environment, the altered character becomes fixed 

 and inheritable. 



The stature of the Igorots then, is probably a racial character, and not 

 a local condition. 



STATURE AND AGE. 



The stature of the boys as contrasted with that of the adult males, 

 and the relation of growth to age deserve consideration. The ages which 

 I have given are not exact in every instance, because age is determined 

 by the number of rice harvests since the birth of the individual, but as 

 the rice harvest is annual, this method of record is fairly accurate. 



The individuals are arranged in small groups from the age of 5 to 20 years, 

 and in larger groups above this age. (Table IV.) The mean stature increases 

 about 5 centimeters per year up to the age of .16, when the adult height is 

 apparently reached, although a slightly greater height is fomid between 20 and 

 30. The height at 18 and 19 is less than that at 16 and 17, but the small 

 number of individuals at 18 and 19 may account for this. For the same reason, 

 the great height of 5 men above the age of 50 years, and that of the boys from 

 5 to 10 years of age, are not fair estimates. 



