Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 51.djvu/28

20 both the mountains and the plains, we find a deficiency of stature in the mountains quite marked by comparison.

Among civilized peoples this direct influence of environment acts likewise through the food supply to affect the stature of any given group of men. Thus, in Europe as a rule, it may be said that, as among the aborigines of America, the populations of mountainous districts are shorter than those which enjoy the fertility of the plains and the river basins, Wherever the geology of a district has produced a soil which yields with difficulty to



cultivation, or where the climate is unfavorable to prosperity, the influence is reflected in the physical stature of the population. All over Europe we may locate such "misery spots," one of which will, however, serve as an example. It is depicted in the accompanying map.

This spot is likewise indicated in the south central part of France upon our general map for Europe, on page 30, by a small black-dotted area. This means a general average stature of five feet and two to three inches a low level not elsewhere touched