Page:Science vol. 5.djvu/405

 FRIDAY, MAY 8,

��COMMENT AND CRITICISM. Ik all brakciies of seicnce where ihe ob- server deals with the fdnus of ohjects, it is more or Jeaa dcsii'able that od average of tlic shapes of the objects should be attained. This end has hitherto been sought through a Bjstem of mea^uremcDta, nhich is at best a clumsy method, suited only to dcteimine ibe average of Bomo single dimension; for, where it is Ihe nim to present to the eye a normal or typical form, il is qnitc incoraiietent to servo the desired end. So far the lieantlfut method of composite photography devised by Francis Gnltoii has only been applied to the homan face, nith the single exception of Dr. Bilhngs'a expei-iments in craniology: if it can be carried into no other fields, it will stil! remain one of the most im- portant contributions to the grapbie reaoui-ces of science. But the naturalist who lias felt the need of this resource in various direclions is drawn to consider how far its nse may be extended to other branches of inquiry. It seems at first sight that there may be use for it in obtaming (lie normal or average form of all oljccts which do not depart too far from a mean bhnpe It may be that the zoologist or botanist who wishes to present a picture giving the normal aspect of a variable species, can, oj seleiting for delineation individuals of the same size, present to the eye a comjmsile tombining the general features, and neglecting the indii idun! variations. In this way we shall be able to give to the term ' normal form" a deflmte and valuable meaning which has hitherto been wanting. It will also be re- membered that the late Professor Agassiz laid particular stress on form as the under- lying element of ' family ' structure among animals; and this would seem to offer an opi^nunily to lest esiicri men tally the view (Sld by the great naturalist.

��It may also be hoped, that, in certain lines of inquiry in the inorganic world, this method of graphic averaging, this Gallonizing process, if ive may so term it. will be of great use. Yet, important as are the prospects for the extension of this metbod of delineation to other Selds of inquiry, its greatest use must be in tile study of the human body. Thi-re this admirable process is full of promise. It may, for instance, be possible to secure an average picture of our school -children at different ages, which will give us a new measure of Ibcir con- dition, and so belp us io what is [lerhaps the most im[iortant branch of social Inquiry. The effect of occupations, and the results of dif- ferent methods of pbj'sical culture, can also be accurately compared. It may be serviceable in testing the action of different syatema of training on yonng soldiers, as also the influence of their aceoutrements on the form of the body, So, too, the effects of cert.iin diseases on the bodily form may be ascerlaiued, to the great gain of metlical science. Indeed, the possi- hililies of this method crowd on the mind. Practice may show limits to its use, and will doubtless do much to overcome certain diffl- cultiea evident at the outset of the work.

��The charming composite photographs for which we are to-day indebted to Professor Pumpelly show the admirable results which m.iy be obtained, and at the same time some of the critical difllculties of the process. No one can look upon them without a new respect for that shadowy thing called the normal man. Thci-e is a singular dignity in these combined shadows: they are strong faees, those of high- browed, deep-eyed, earnest-looking men, fit for all sorts of trials. But most of those who review the faces of American men of acienee will recognize that in figs, i and .3 one face appears, curiously, to dominate all the others, yet which, taken by itself, is perhaps the most

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