Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-06-08

rentage boys are inferior to girls In alge-
bra drawing, language, music, penman-
ship. reading, spelling and-strange to
say-"manuai labor" Boys are equal so
girls in only four studies and excel them
IN but two. Sociological conditions are
found to affect the girls more than the
boys, poor conditions having tendency to
lower their relative ability more. But as
between lazy and nervous girls and boys
OF the same category, the girls are much
ahead of the boys in mental ability. Col
oreu girls are found superior to colored
ferior in two.
Girls can remember more than bows.
This was proven by reading a story Tor
three minutes to several thousand children
and by requiring them to write all which
they afterward recollected. Ii was found
that growth of memory power is mora
rapid in girls than in boys probably he
cause girls mature faster than do their
brothers.
Boys More Sensitive to Heat
Boys are found to be more sensitive 70
heat than girls. This was determined by
aid Of a queer instrument consisting Of two
thermometers fastened together. one was
heated until 1t registered ten degrees high
| er than the other. The two were placed
against the surface of the wrist in line
| at right angles to its length. The child
| subject was asked which was the warmer
and on replying correctly the thermome-
tiers were retained against the skin while
they approached each other in Temperature
and until he could not determine which
was the warmer. Then the difference I'm
degrees indicated the sensitiyeness of the
subject in disseminating degrees of heat
Boys are more accurate than girls in
tlhatlng distance. BY drawing a long line
and asking boys and girls to estimate its
! length by sight the average for accuracy
was greater among the boys, except at two
md
cry brought out by this test is that at the
age OF SIX the average child thus estimated
a line at about one-ifth its real length. 1t
does not appear to have proper concep-
1on OF length until its ninth or tenth year.
Girls attain accurate Judgment two years
later than boys. Up to the age of fifteen
IN chiioren distance is judged to be shorter
imam II actually Is. Boys and girls between
seven and fifteen are equally accurate in
discriminating differences in weights hut
above the latter age boys are the more
accurate. Girls can distinguish mor,
shades Of the same color than can bows
But boys are found to be more quick than
girls IN responding to given signal.
our sisters are properly known as the
weaker sex in the physical acceptance of
! the word. This is known to every one who
keeps his eyes open. but it has not been
nItherto proven by aid of Instruments of
precision applied Systematically to large
numbers. Often it is interesting to have
an old fact proven to us by a new method
In such case the obvious nature of the
OF proving it. The instrument used In this
case was known the ergograph and
consisted OF a clasp, which held the hand
while the index finger-which seems to be
the index to ones power of endurance
was attached to a sling bearing a weight
The finger continued to wiggle and beat
seconds as long as it could, moving the
weight the while. At this exercise the
boys attained higher average. as might
be expected. Boys Were found to have
greater muscular strength than girls at all
ages, but the difference is slight until four
teen. AT nineteen a man can lift twice as
much as a woman.
Age When Girls Are the Bigger,
There Is one time in her life when the
average girl can glory in being taller and
heavier than the average boy of equal age.
This period comes between the ages Of
eleven and fourteen. But boys grow more
regularly than do girls. City boys and
girls grow less and are smaller than cotIn-
try boys and girls Of the same age. Girls
are more sickly than boys about the age
when they are taller and heavier At this
age the heads of the two sexes are almost
the same size. Afterwards the heads of
boys grow longer in proportion to their
breadth, more so than do those of their
sisters.
Women's heads grow In length until their
eighteenth year, when further increase
ceases. The heads of men continue to
grow in circumference until their twenty
growth in width at seventeen: mems at
twenty-one. The average girls face is
wider in proportion than that of the aver
age man.
In men a change in the color of eyes gem
orally begins at the age OF twenty-one in
women at eighteen. The hair of the aver
age woman turns dark faster than that of
the average man. Blushing is found 10 be
more common among those of the feminine
than those of the masculine gender
Its prevalence remains to a greater age
among women. The most frequent cause
for blushing is found to be teasing about
the opposite sex.
Men and women, boys and girls were en-
tered In unique contest purposed to deter
mine the relative motor ability of the sexes
Each was required to tap with the fingers
upon some surface often as possible
within five seconds. Below the age Of
three girls excelled, but from then on the
boys and men held the record. Motor abil-
fty of course comes into play in many pur-
suits. as typewriting, telegraphy, etc.
The average girl was found to attain her
greatest lung capacity at about thirteen,
when the most rapid increase in the aver
age boy commences. Until between the
ages of ten and eleven the pulse of girls Is
faster than that Of boys. From then the
reverse is the case until fourteen, after
which the pulse of girls beats at the faster
rate, and continues thus throughout wo-
manhood.
Defects of speech were found to be more
prevalent among boys than among girls
as were commissions. The percentage of
found to be twice that of girls.
JOHN ELFRETH WATKINS, Jr.
Camille Hint