Evening star., 1953-12-16
Personality and HeoIth
Linked to Body's Build
Science Seeking to Prove
Theory Duting to Aristotle
By Thomas R. Henry

BY Thomas R. Henry
Both personality and health may be
closely related to characteristic body
build-that is, whether one is tall and
slim or round and fat. etc.
This observation is as old as Aris-
totle. One doesn't expect highly in
troverted individual to be jolly, rolly-
polly fellow. One doesn't expect the fat
boy suddenly to become victim of de-
mentia praecox.
The trouble has been that-human
beings being so variable and mixed up
as all of them are-there has been no
way Of getting convincing scientific
proof. During the past quarter century.
however. great amount of data has
accumulated beering on the problem.
Now, under Rockefeller Foundation
grant, University of London scientist
is trying to reduce the chaos to order
and provide some foundation satisfac-
tory to scientists Applying a new
method Of typing, DR.. ]. M. Tanner has
made extensive Investigations of OK
ford students. His first type is the
"ectomorph" thin, awkward and
gangly. He calls it the "Ichabod Crane"
type. An abnormally large percentage
of these, he finds, are concentrated in
the more difficult courses at the uni
versity. Opposed to them are the EN-
domorphs," the "Mr Pickwick type"
They go in for good times and beer
parties. DR.. Tanners third type is the
mesomorphs. the muscle and bone
men," These are found characters
tically in the athletic clubs and on
the university teams.
Children Studied.
Besides the university students, DR..
Tanner is studying group in a chill
dren's home. Both groups are measured
by photography and by X-rays. Various
biological and endocrinol tests are now
to be applied. DR.. Tanner and his aSso-
ciates hope to obtain objective evidence
of the susceptibility to various diseases
of certain physiques and certain bio
logical constitutions. The children will
be followed throughout the preadoles-
cent period to determine relationships
between changes in physique and be-
havior at different ages.
New. kinds of growth-control chem
icals which may make it possible to
tailor" crops are being tested by De-
partment of Agriculture scientists.
Among the possibilities described are:
Truck farmers make several plant
ingS of beans in order to have a crop
coming on through the season. It would
be more economical to plant them all
at once, using a growth regulator to
hold back part of the crop.
Such plants as snap beans often pro-
duce a mass of stems and leaves but
little fruit. One of the new chemicals
may control the top growth and let
more of the soil nutrients go into the
beans.
Shrubs might serve a home many
years longer if they were treated to
prevent their growing so tall they have
to be replaced.
1t may be possible to produce a
dwarf alfalfa for hillside pastures
which will furnish nitrogen to the soil
and yet not compete with soil-holding
grasses.
Three Groups Tested.
Thus far, Drs. j. w. Mitchell, P. C.
Marth and w. H. Preston have tested
three groups of chemicals with growth
regulating properties which differ de-
cidedly for different, plants. One group
consists of six ammonium compounds,
OF which the best known is so-called
amo-1618. AS little as a pound to the
acre drastically checked the growth of
snap beans. Blooming was delayed three
to ten days and maturity Jagged a
month or more. The chemical has a
STEM shortening effect on chrysanthe-
NUNS, Sunflowers and sesame A mod
crate response was noted on lespedeza,
peas lettuce, tobacco, maple and pin
oak. Alfalfa was slightly affected.
Another group consists of nicotine
compounds. They have much the same
effects as the ammonium group. One
has worked well on beans and peas
Third are sulfur compounds, one of
which shortened the stems of beans,
cucumbers and Sunflowers Another had
the same effect on poinsettia and East
er lily.
The research, it is emphasized in the
Department of Agriculture report, still
is far from the stage where these chem
icals can be recommended to farmers.
The possibilities of permanently poi
soning the soil and permanently af-
fecting the plant heredity still are unex-
plored.