Finger Prints by Francis Galton : image 0148

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FINGER PRINTS

CHAP.

TABLE IV.

Percentage		frequency of		Loops.
Hand.	Thumb.	Fore- finger.		Middle finger.	Ring- finger.		Little finger.
Right . . .	53		53	78		66		86
Left . . .	65		55	76		53		90
Mean . .	59		54	77		59.5		88

Whorls (Table V.) are most common on the thumb and the ring-finger, most rare on the middle and little fingers.

	Percentage frequency			of Whorls.
Hand.	Thumb.	Fore- finger.		Middle finger.	Ring- finger.		Little finger.
Right . . .	44		30	15		45		13
Left . . .	30		28	,16		31		8
Mean . .	37		29	15.5		38		10.5

The fore-finger is peculiar in the frequency with which the direction of the slopes of its loops differs from that which is by far the most common in all other digits. A loop must have a slope, being caused by the disposition of the ridges into the form of a pocket, opening downwards to one or other side of the finger. If it opens towards the inner or thumb side of the hand, it will be called an inner slope ;

TABLE V.

OCR Rendition - approximate