LONG AND SHORT OF IT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 29, 4 February 1933, Page 12 (Supplement)

LONG AND SHORT OF IT.

It is often said that the tallest people are found in the temperate zones, and the general idea is that the British and the Scandinavians are-. the tallest races in the world.

The average height of (English, Scots, and Scandinavians is the same. A fullgrown man "of' each race averages sft 7 2'sin in height. The Irish are a fraction of an inch shorter, and next are Danes and Belgians.

In the matter of height" the records are held by Zulus, Iroquois Indians, Polynesians, and Patagonians. The last, the tallest race in the world, average sft 10 l-3in.

Laplanders, who reside almost on the Arctic circle, are the shortest race on earth. A grown man is only 7-10ths of an inch over sft.

It is clear enough that climate and latitude have nothing to do with height. Food and fresh air have more to do with the development of the individual than climate, as is proved by the fact that everywhere the farm labourer is taller than the artisan.

A striking example is provided by Scotland, where the farm labourer is 4in taller and 3Glb heavier than the average Glasgow artisan. Again, the fishing population of the Yorkshire coast exceed the Sheffield workers by 3in in height and 241b in weight.