OCR Rendition - approximate

:'66 REPORT-1883. REPORT OF THE ANTIIROPOMETRIC COAIDIITTEE. i67 Cimbro-British districts of Galloway ; in the Anglo-Danish ones of North and East Yorkshire, Westmoreland and Lincolnshire, and in Cumberland, whose people are ethnologically intermediate between the two. Lothian and Berwickshire are mainly Anglian, while the Perthshire highlanders are the most clearly identified as the descendants of the Caledonii. The high position of Norfolk in the list is duo to a largo admixture of Danish blood on the coast. There is a fringe of moderately high stature all round the coast from Norfolk to Cornwall, while the inland people, retaining more of the ancient British blood, yield lower averages. Middlesex and Hertfordshire, which stand very low, were later and less perfectly colonised by the Anglo-Saxon than the surrounding counties, and nearly the same may be said of the counties around the Severn estuary and the Welsh border. Cornwall stands higher than the surrounding counties, and this is probably duo to its having become the refuge of the military class of Southern Britain, in the main of Belgic origin. Flint and Denbigh owe their superiority to the other Welsh counties to the immigration of the Cumbrian and Strathclyde Britons.' -Dr. Beddoe. 30. According to the Committee's returns, the western provinces of Ireland possess a high stature, similar to the Scotch Ilighlands, with which they may have a common racial origin, while the lower stature of the eastern provinces is probably traceable to the comparatively recent Scotch and English immigrations. The Irish returns are, however, too few to be relied on (although the closeness of the averages for all the provinces would suggest the absence of any errors of observation), and any conclusions drawn from them must be received with great reserve until they are confirmed by more extended inquiries. In some of the returns the county origin and birthplace was not recorded, which accounts for the difference between the totals for the whole of Ireland and those living in each province. 31. The racial elements of the British population are best demonstrated by separating a few of the counties where there has been the least admixture of foreign blood, and comparing these together, thus : Uace District Stature weight Early British Canligan, Radnor, and ISrecon . . ...c.%9 160 3 Saxon . Sussex, Berkshire, and Oxfordshire . 13722 155-8 Aeglian Lothians, Northumberland, and Norfolk 65'73 1136.7 Scandinavian f Hhetland, Cait hness, North an(] East York--l 68.32 162.7 l shire, and Lincolnshire. J 32. Grograpdcical dtstribu tion.-The inhabitants of the more elevated districts possess a greater stature than those of alluvial plains. The counties forming the river valleys of the Severn and Wye, the Thames, the Doe and Mersey, the Clyde, the Trent, and the. fen district of Cambridge and Huntingdon, show a lower stature than the surrounding counties inhabited by persons of a similar racial origin. 33. With respect to latitude and climate, the inhabitants of the northern and colder districts possess greater stature than those of the southern and warmer parts of the island ; those of the north-eastern and drier regions are taller than those of the south-western and damper climates. A similar disposition of stature has been found to exist in France and Italy, the inhabitants of both these countries being taller in the northern than in the southern provinces. The same rule applies to the whole of the countries of Europe, in their relation to each other, as will be seen in Table IV., constructed to show the position held by the inhabitants of the British Isles relative to the stature of other European countries. The Committee regrets that it has not been able to obtain any information on this subject direct from the European countries (except some referring to conscripts, which were not suitable for their purpose), and has been obliged to avail itself of the observations made in the United States of America on emigrants from European States. In reading this table it must be borne in mind that the statistics referring to the United Kingdom, collected by the Committee, and to the native-born population of the United States, refer to men of all classes; while those collected by the military authorities of 1863-4 in the United States, .referring to Canada and the other American countries, and to those of all Europe, refer to emigrants, who belong almost entirely to the labouring classes. The close accord between the average stature of the United Kingdom (67.66 inches) and that of the native white population of the United States ((;7.67 inches) is accounted for in this way; and, on the other hand, the marked differences between the statures of the Scotch (68.71), Irish (67'90), English (67.36), and Welsh ((36.66 inches), as given by the Committee and those given by the United States Government (67'07, 66.74, 6658, and 6642 respectively) is explained. Some American writers on the subject have overlooked this important distinction, and, studying only the statistics obtained in their own country, have concluded that the AngleSaxon race is of greater stature in America than in Great Britain. In the Report of the Committee for 1879 Mr. Roberts has given a paper, illustrated by a series of diagrams and statistical tables, of English and Americans, showing the close similarity which exists between the stature and weight of the two branches of our race, both in children and adults ; and the more extended observations of the Committee appear to confirm fns Conclusions. 34. Occupation and sanitary s7wroioule:ngs.-The various industries of this country are not often so defined by the county boundaries as to show their effects on the physical development. It is probable, however, that the low stature in the West Riding of Yorkshire is due to the largo manufacturing town population included in the returns, and the relatively low stature of Durham to the large mining population. Lancashire and Stafford, which contain similar industries to those e of the West Riding and Durham, do not show any falling off in stature, and it is probable that a large number of returns received from Sheffield have unfairly lowered the West Riding. The very low position, lower than can be accounted for by their racial origin,. taken by the home counties-Hertford, Middlesex, and Surrey-is no doubt duo to their proximity to London ; the more vigorous men are attracted to the town by high wages, and the more feeble overflow into the surrounding districts. The counties which fringo the sea-coast possess a higher stature than those adjoining them but lying further inland. This may be due to race, as has already been suggested ; but it may also be due to the more healthy situation or the fishing occupation. The lower stature of the river valleys would seem to imply that such situations are not favourable to physical development, especially as some of them were originally settled by the Scandinavian races.