130 



Miss M. A. Whiteley and Prof. Karl Pearson. 



fully re-done but no error has been discovered. It would thus appear 

 that in the right hand the index finger is less variable than the middle 

 finger. The general order of utility of the fingers would appear to be 

 middle finger, index finger, ring finger, little finger, and this exactly 

 agrees with the order of increasing variability in the left hand. The 

 only doubt about this order appears in the relative efficiency and utility 

 of the middle and index fingers, which have a different order of varia- 

 bility in the right hand. 



As all our subjects belonged to the educated classes, it is just possible 

 that the great use of the right hand index finger in writing has some- 

 thing to do with this diversity. 



5. Correlation of the First Finger Joints : — 



Table IV. — Correlation Coefficients. 

 (a) Eight Hand. 



! 



Ri. 



Eii. 



Eiii. 



Eiv. 



K r ,. 

 Eii.. 

 R iii . 

 E iv . 



1 



0-8994 ± 0-0055 

 -8753 ± -0067 

 0-8173 ± 0-0095 



0-8994 ± 0-0055 

 1 



-9031 ± *0053 

 -8243 ± -0092 



0-8753 ± 0-0067 

 -9031 ± -0053 

 1 



-8629 db -0073 



-8173 ± -0095 

 -8243 ± -0092 

 0-8629 ± 0-0073 

 1 



(b) Left Hand. 





Li. 



Lii. 



L iii. 



! 



L iv. 



Li .. 

 Lii.. 



! Liii . 

 L iy. . 



1 



0-9097 ± 0-0050 

 0-8798 db 0-0065 

 0-8204 ± 0-0094 



-9097 ± -0050 

 1 



0-9141 db 0-0047 

 0-8227 d= 0-0093 



0-8798 i 0-0065 

 -9141 ± -0047 

 1 



0-8710 ± 0-0069 



-8204 ± -0094 

 -8227 ± -0093 

 -8710 ± -0069 



1 



(c) Eight and Left Hands.* 





Ei. 



Eii. 



Eiii. 



Eiv. 



Li... 

 Lii.. 



L iii . 

 L iy . 



-9249 ± -0042 



-9341 ± -0037 



0-9287 ± 0*0039 



-9039 ± -0053 



* The great labour involved in forming and reducing the seventeen correlation 

 tables of this paper precluded the determination of further right and left-hand 



correlation coefficients for the present. 



