2 
A Stifdi/ in Criminal Anthropometry 
that the temperature of idiots is lower than that of normals. Such a conclusion 
might easily be reached if great care were not taken in keeping the mouths of the 
mentally defective closed. Norsworthy has given a descending scale of temperature 
from brightest girls to mediocre girls and so through mental defectives to idiots*. 
But the numbers dealt with were very inadequate, and the time of insertion very 
short. It appeared therefore well worth while considering further certain tempera- 
ture problems, and the Biometric Laboratory was lucky enough to have placed at 
its disposal observations by Dr Charles Goring on 500 convicts. Of these convicts 
400 were of normal intelligence and 100 were classed as weak-minded. In the bulk 
of cases the temperatures were taken twice at an interval of 14 days and upwards, 
the temperature of the room was also taken. Further the pulse and respiration 
were observed on both occasions. The examinations were all made at the same 
time, about a quarter of an hour after early dinner, and in the same condition, — 
the prisoner would be sitting in his cell, either reading, writing or doing nothing. 
When the thermometer had been inserted under his tongue, the medical officer 
would count the frequency of his pulse during one minute, and then would count 
respirations during one minute by observation of abdominal movement; the 
prisoner himself had of course no knowledge that this observation was being made. 
Besides the above data, the age, stature, weight, nature of the crime and previous 
convictions, the existence of special disease, the general health, the physical 
condition with regard to nutrition and muscularity, as well as the class of prison 
labour were all recorded. Only some of these data are discussed in the present 
paper. 
Of the characters dealt with, stature, age, weight, pulse, respiration and tem- 
perature are quantitatively determined, intelligence is in two classes, normal and 
feeble-minded; the other data are in broad categories. Thus General Health is 
classed as "Poor," "Indifferent," or "Good"; for physical condition there are 
two divisions, each in alternate categories, (i) "Fat" or " Thin" and (ii) "Muscular" 
or "Weak"; labour done by the convict is classed into "Heavy" and "Light"; 
and this forms an adequate classification by which to test health conditions and 
other physical categories. 
(2) Temjjeraiure. The temperatures were oral, taken with a Kew certified 
minute thermometer inserted under tongue with closed mouth for three minutes. 
None of the subjects were hospital invalids, all at the time of the observations were 
getting about, but of course a good many were suffering from chronic disease or 
disorders of one kind or another. The following classification of these diseases 
and disorders was made: 
I. Syphilis: disease apparently inactive at time of observation. 
II. Chronic Bronchitis or Asthma, or both : free from attack at time of 
observation. 
* "The Psychology of Mentally Defective Children," Archives of Psychologi/, November, 1906. 
See also Pearson : Mendelism and Mental Defect, No. m (Cambridge University Press), p. 27. 
