Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1919-10-19

The Figure on the Right, That of Sandop,
Who Has Been Noted a. One of tho
World. Strongest Men for Many Years,
Illustrate. the Scientific Principle, Proved
by Professor Dreyer's Experiments, That
Short Legged, Long Bodied Men Are
Strongest and Longest Lived. His Body
and Head Measure lo1a Squares, Against
7i4 Squares for His Legs.
the Left-Hand Figure, Joe Loomi., tho
Wonderful American Splinter, Whose Legs
Measure 9ls Squares, Against S1a
for His Body.
THE man with short legs and large
body and chest is. as a rule,
stronger than the tall man in all
the important elements OF strength in.
Gliding prospects Of long life.
This highly interesting fact has been
proved in a long series of tests by Pro-
lessor George Dreyer. professor of path
ology in the University of Oxford
Professor Dreyers most important dis
covery. stated in scientific language, is
that vital capacity is simple function
Of body surface" By vital capacity" he
means every form OF strength, including
longevity Everything must be considered
in its proper relations and body surface"
must he considered in relation 10 volume
Now short men, especially those with short
legs. have a greater body surface in pro-
portion to volume than tall men and there
fore, they have greater vital capacity than
the tall GncS. II Is II simple arithmetical
fact, by the way. that as body volume in.
crcasas body surface relatively decreases.
The child has the greatest body surface OF
all types
But the problem is somewhat more COM
piicated than the facts OF body surface
would suggest. The tall man, in many
cases has a poorly developed chest as q
result OF his growth in height Hence the
average vitality OF tall men is reduced even
more lhan the mere deficiency of body sur.
face would suggest.
Vitality lies in tho trunk OF the body,
from the base of the spine 10 the neck.
Strong men have large body and their
legs may be undevelopcd. Even poorly
developed arms are rot incompatible with
great vitality.
Several facts poir. to the conclus ion
that the shortlegged men live longest. One
OF the most important is that in a large
number OF men chosen at random. 95 per
cent OF the men above fifty belonged to
the short.legged type
The short-legged man has large vital or
gans. especially the heart and lungs, and
these organs exercise their functions with
greater regularity and cert anty than when
they are distributed through the body OF Il
long-legged man. The former has also the
advantage Of large body surface through
which TO perspire.
Sandow. who has been celebrated as one
of the strongest men in the world for a
remarkable number Of years is an excellent
example OF the shor-legged type. On the
other hand, most of the successful dancers
and runners belong to the long-legeed type.
The short-legged man is a more print
tive type genetically than the long-legged
one, and most European peasants belong
to the former class Such man is closer
in ancestry to the ape. The longegged
man is most graceful and is apt to be an
adventurous character but has much less
vitality.
Professor Dreyer. in taking measure.
ments, makes his subject sit down so that
the lowest point of his backbone touches a
scale at his back. The measurement Of
the body is then taken from the sitting
point 10 the top OF the head
These experiments do not mean that
every small man Is necessarily stronger
than any large tall man. Some tall men
are, in fact, much stronger and healthier
than some small men. But the eXperi-
ments do mean that the small man, on the
average, possesses more vitality in pro-
portion to weight than the tall man, and
ority over tall men. Especially is this
large body and short legs.
The man with short legs possesses
greater endurance. greater lifting power,
greater resistance to disease, better circ,l-
lation than the tall man. His principal