718 The American Naturalist. [August 
to anteroposterior pressure on the pubic arch. This in turn may 
be a consequence of the monogamic customs of the Indo- 
European subspecies due to the greater esteem in which women 
are held. But on this point we can only speculate. 
In any case the Venus of Milo has the form of a very mature 
woman of her race, and many moderns can boast of far more 
graceful figures than she. And these figures are not the result 
of artificial compression of the clothing, but are the product of a 
natural evolution of form. It is true, however, that all women 
of the white race have not attained this stage, and not a few 
retain the figure of lower races. It is not, however, proven that 
the women possessing this figure are any better child-bearers than 
those of modern type. Occasionally we meet women who toa 
robust waist add a narrow pelvis,—an unfortunate structure, and 
one not likely to be extensively reproduced, owing to the difficult 
parturition which is indicated. 
The women who are not satisfied with the figures which nature 
has given them, and who endeavor to reduce a naturally robust 
waist to the proportions which characterize their more favored 
sisters by artificial means, deserve all the reprobation which the 
above-mentioned reformers bestow so undiscriminatingly on all 
alike. Excess of slenderness is not beautiful, and artificial com- 
pression forces the viscera into positions which produce a deform- 
ity of the abdominal wall more repulsive than a stout waist.—C. 
_ —LABORATORIES of Marine Biology have been established at 
various localities for the purpose of enlarging our knowledge of 
animal and vegetable structure, development, and function, and 
to furnish a headquarters for the instruction of the entire com- 
munity in all matters connected with increased supply, avoidance 
of disease, and cultivation of more varieties of sea foods. 
Some idea of the extent to which the important bearings of: 
Laboratories of Marine Biology are appreciated and encouraged 
abroad may be gained from the following list, which will make 
clear at the same time how much America is behind other nations 
in giving scientific oversight to one side of the question of cheap 
and plentiful food supply, a question growing in importance in 
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