Evening star., 1949-07-29
Hair on Fingers Found
Index of Human Heredity
Diplomats and Foreign Students
Are Subjects in New Research
Bp Thomas x, Henry

By Thomas X. Henry
Hair growing on the middle segments Of
the fingers constitutes hitherto unrecog-
nized index of human heredity.
1t makes possible to some degree the trac-
ing of ancient human migration, for ap-
parenty it is hereditary characteristic
which has been passed down from time inn
memorial. according to report to the
American Genetics Association by Marianne
e. Bernstein of Syracuse University.
Members of the diplomatic corps in Wash
ington as we'll as foreign students at the
university were subjects of her research
The human race apparently is divided
into Ave types, so far as this characteristic
is concerned Some have no hair on the
fingers. some on one finger, some on two.
some on three and some on four. The lat
ter is the case with nearly all the great apes.
Aryan Characteristic.
Presence of hair on the middle segments
OF three fingers is characteristic of most of
the peoples of Northern Europe. The growth
is found on the little. middle and ring
fingers. but almost never on the index
finger. This also. DR.. Bernstein found, is a
characteristic of the Persians and lends
substance to the claim that they are part
of the original Aryan stock which came out
of Asia into Europe towards the end of the
new stone age.
Hair on all four fingers occurs rarely
among European races but is fairly we'll
distributed. 1t may be evidence. according
to the report that there was a good deal
OF intermixture between the newcomers and
the cave men of the last ice age who pre-
sumably were closer to the original ape-like
ancestor.
Arabs either have no hair on the fingers
at all, or only on the ring finger. There also
is reason to believe that this was the case
with the Biblical Jews. A study of 6S Jewish
families in New York City, however, shows
a fairly even distribution of all four types.
This is evidence. the report indicates, of an
enormous mixture of races in the present
Jewish complex
Women college g aduates have had almost
twice as many children during the past
decade, on the average, as before 1910.
This constitutes a revolution" in the
American birth rate, according to report
just issued by the Population Reference Bu-
reau here.
Between 1910 and 1947," says Dr.. Guy
Irving Burch. director of the Bureau "the
increased 81 per cent compared with only
20 per cent for women r,ho had cc,c>'c-o.!
only five years of grade school.
This is something new in birth rates in
the United States but the trend still will
nave to continue for much longer time if
the size of the family of the more highly edu-
Gated is to equal that of the poorly edu-
Gated The replacement rate of women who
had less than five years in grade school still
was 81 per cent higher than that for college
graduates-but in 1910 it was 1865 per cent
higher.
Bumper Baby Crops.
"All along the line the higher the educa-
ton the greater the increase in birth rates
since 1910. The replacement rate of college
women graduates made the greatest gain.
but women with one to three years of coll
lege and high school graduates made the
second and third largest gains
The years 194S and 1949 with their
bumper baby crops are not included in the
statistics DR.. Burch says, because these
statistics are not yet available. But he
believes that the last year will show the
highest recorded birth rates for college
graduates in century.
"It may be argued" he says, that the
rise in the national birth rate caused by
the draft and the war pushed the college
birth rate up. But we find the college birth
rate leading the pack, both in percentage
and numerically"