Juxe 5, 1S85. 



SCIENCE 



463 



with 71 % for the '10 exaggeration;' for the 

 native whites it is 3 % , as compared with 28 % ; 

 for the foreign-born 36 %, as compared with 

 103% ; for the colored 200 %, as compared 

 with 432 %. 



If we subdivide the native male whites, the 

 most reliable class, into the native male whites 

 of each state and territory, we find great dif- 

 ferences between the averages of the several 

 states. The inhabitants of New Mexico, 

 though native male whites, are in the habit of 

 mendacity, at least Mexicans, and their ' 10 

 exaggeration ' is 292 %. So, too, the native 

 male whites of the southern states, where too 

 close intimacy with the ' round-number loving ' 

 negro seems to be dangerous to statistical 

 accuracy, have a high average ; while all the 

 New-England states are in the best third of 

 the list, and all but Ehocle Island in the best 

 dozen. Other good states are Iowa, Ohio, 

 Pennsylvania, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, 

 and Michigan. 



Having ascertained to what extent each race 

 and sex exaggerates with reference to ' round- 

 number ' ages, it remains to trace the extent 

 of this exaggeration at each of the ' round ' 

 ages. In this the graphic method will be an 

 aid. The heav} T line in fig. 2 represents the 

 variations in the size of the ' 10 exaggeration ' 

 at the ages 10, 20, etc., up to 90 for the total 

 population : the dotted line does the same for 

 the native whites, the light line for the foreign- 

 born, and the broken line for the colored. 

 The distance from the point where the curve 

 begins to the base-line measures the ' 10 ex- 

 aggeration ' for the number at 10 years ; the 

 distance from the point of junction with the sec- 

 ond ordinate to the base-line measures the 

 exaggeration for the age of 20 ; and so on, as 

 indicated at the foot of the diagram. With 

 the exception of that for the colored people, 

 the curves are very similar. In each case, the 

 ordinates are about as high at the point 20 as 

 at the point 10 ; i.e., persons in the neighbor- 

 hood of 10 years of age are about as apt to call 

 themselves 10, as those in the neighborhood of 

 20 to call themselves 20, years old. After this 

 point, however, the excess gradually increases 

 for each decade, until the maximum is reached 

 at 60. From 60 on, there is a more or less 

 uniform fall to the last point at 90. But in 

 the colored race the work of exaggeration is 

 developed on a much vaster scale. Each 

 decade has a higher excess than its predeces- 

 sor, until, in this series of steep ascents, the 

 apex is reached, as before, at the age of 60, 

 when the excess is 930% ; that is, over 10 

 times as many colored people lay claim to the 



age of 60 as to that of 59. After the point 

 60, the exaggeration falls, but rises again at 

 80, ending with a slight fall at 90. 



With regard to sex, as before, at each age 

 (except at 10 ) 2 the females exaggerate more 

 than the males : these differences are greatest 

 at 70, 80, and 90 years. 



It is natural that the giving of one's age in 

 round numbers should be a more common prac- 

 tice with old than with young people. There 

 is a greater difference between being 19 and 

 being 20 years old than there is between being 

 59 and being 60. Younger persons, too, are 

 more apt to know their exact age than older 

 ones. The second half of each curve, then, 

 is higher than the first half: this is especially 

 evident in the curve for the colored people. 

 But why this excess should be greatest at 60, 

 is not apparent : 50 would probably have the 

 strongest claim to be considered the ' roundest ' 

 age. Or is 59 an ; odder ' number than 49 ? 

 It seems that the condition of mind to which a 

 round number is most apt to present special 

 charms is most likely to occur near the end of 

 the fifth decade of life. The age of 80, how- 

 ever, in the case of the colored people, plays 

 almost as prominent a part as 60. The fact, 

 too, that in the seventh, eighth, and ninth 

 decades of life the greatest differences between 

 the exaggerations of the two sexes occur, is 

 interesting. It seems to indicate that old 

 women, and notably old colored women, are 

 far more forgetful of their ages than old men. 

 For the colored males, the exaggeration at 80 

 is 520% ; for the females, 920%. 



If we were to trace similar curves for the ' 5 

 exaggeration,' we should find, 1°, that they 

 would all be much lower (i.e., the exaggeration 

 is less, as is also shown in fig. 1) ; 2°, that the 

 curves would hold the same relative positions. 

 — the native white lowest, then the total popu- 

 lation, then the foreign-born, and much higher 

 the colored ; 3°, that the highest excess occurs 

 at 45, except in the colored curve, where it is 

 at 75 ; 4°, that the curves are less regular ; 5°, 

 that the exaggeration of the females is greater 

 than that of the males, and differs most from 

 it at the higher ages. It is peculiar that the 

 greatest ' 5 exaggeration ' occurs at 45, while 

 the greatest ' 10 exaggeration ' occurs at 60. 

 The exaggeration at 65, however, is not much 

 smaller than that at 45, and in the colored is 

 actually larger, though here both are smaller 

 than the excess at 75. This is what the 

 ' roundness ' of the number ' 75 ' would lead 

 one to expect. 



While in the ' 10 exasperation ' the second 



1 And here the difference hetween the sexes is very small. 



