Anthropometric laboratory / arranged by Francis Galton.

  • International Health Exhibition (1884 : London, England)
Date:
1884
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Anthropometric laboratory / arranged by Francis Galton. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    mixture of oil and water, so well shaken together that they form an apparently homogeneous substance; but the com¬ bination is not durable. Leave the emulsion alone, and after a longer or shorter time it will separate into its component elements. Types are stable, but the forms of their mongrel offspring are not; and whenever the external features of the old types are found in something of their original purity, it is reasonable to suppose that their inward characteristics are present also. Whether it be as a race peculiarity or not, the colour of the hair is related, at least in America, to certain forms of immunity from disease or susceptibility to it. This is shown by the statistics published by the American War Office in 1875, under the direction of Dr. Baxter. At the time of the war of their rebellion all male citizens of the United States between the ages of 20 and 45 years were medically inspected with great minuteness, to learn how many were fit for service. About one quarter of those examined were rejected, and the diseases that incapacitated them are specified in Dr. Baxter’s book, together with various particulars, including the colour of the hair and eyes. It appears from an analysis of between 330,000 and 340,000 of the best reported cases of invalidism, that the proportion of the light complexioned men who were unfit for service was larger than that of the dark. The light haired men in America were more affected than the dark haired by every form of disease except chronic rheumatism. A diagram in which these proportions are shown is hung up in the laboratorv. * It follows that even the colour of the hair is a proper subject for anthropometric record ; much more may we feel assured that obviously important personal data deserve measurement and registration.