430 
Association of Finger-Prints 
that digit be on the right or on the left hand ; as regards the second group, the frequency difiers 
greatly in the two hands. But though in the first group the two fore-fingers, the two middle, 
and the two little fingers of the right hand are severally circumstanced alike in the frequency 
with which their various jmtterns occur, the difference between the frequency of the patterns 
on a fore, a middle, and a little finger, respectively, is very great. 
" In the second group, though the thumbs on opposite hands do not resemble each other in 
the statistical frequency of the A. L. W. patterns, nor do the ring fingers, there is a great 
resemblance between the respective frequencies in the thumbs and ring fingers ; for instance, 
the whorls on either of these fingers on the left hand are only two-thirds as common as those 
on the right. The figures in each line and in each column are consistent throughout in 
expressing these curious difierences, which must therefore be accepted as facts, and not as 
statistical accidents, whatever may be their explanation." (Galton, Finger Prints, p. 116.) 
These remarks apply with equal force to my figures although the actual 
percentages differ somewhat in certain cases, the most marked being in the 
middle finger arches and the little finger whorls. 
The following points of agreeinent in the distribution of the patterns are also 
noticed by reference to Table 6 c. 
The frequency of arches on the fore-fingers is much greater than on any other 
of the four digits. "It amounts to 17 per cent, on the fore-fingers, while on the 
thumbs and on the remaining fingers the frequency diminishes in a ratio that 
roughly accords with the distance of each digit from the fore-finger. 
" The frequency of Loops has two maxima ; the principal one is on the little 
finger, the secondary on the middle finger. 
" Whorls are most common on the thumb and the ring-finger, most rare on the 
middle and little fingers." {Finger Prints, p. 117.) 
In discussing radial and ulnar loops, which Galton describes as loops liaving 
" inner " and " outer " slopes, respectively, he says : — 
" In all digits except the fore-fingers, the inner slope is much the more rare of 
the two ; but in the fore-fingers the inner slope appears two-thirds as frequently 
as the outer slope. Out of the percentage of 53 loops of the one or other kind on 
the right fore-finger, 21 of them have an inner and 32 an outer slope; out of the 
percentage of 55 loops on the left fore-finger, 21 have inner and 34 have outer 
slopes. Tliese subdivisions 21-21 and 32-34 corroborate the strong statistical 
similarity that was observed to exist between the frequency of the several patterns 
on the right and left fore-fingers ; a condition which was also found to characterise 
the middle and little fingers." {Finger Prints, p. 118.) 
These statements are true, in general, of my Table 3, but my percentages on 
the right fore-finger are 22-8 radial and 26-9 ulnar ; on the left they are 19'2 and 
36'6 respectively. 
Close agreement is also observed in Table 6 d which shows the tendency of 
digits to resemble one another in their various combinations. Galton omits 
combinations into which the little finger enters " because the overwhelming 
