234 
MEAN DIMENSIONS OF BODY- 
the proper size for soldiers' clothing, for which he had undertaken 
a considerable contract with the military authorities. Ballingall 
has given1 some account, as well as a representation of it; and 
states that the instrument is deposited in the Museum of the Edin- 
burgh University. It enables the total height, breadth of neck, 
of shoulders, and of pelvis, the length of legs and height to the 
knee to be measured with greater accuracy and rapidity than oth- 
erwise would be possible, since when the man to be measured has 
taken his position, gauges are quickly set for the measures of all 
these dimensions, and the numerical values read off after the man 
has left the instrument. Instruments of this kind were con- 
structed for the Sanitary 
Commission in 1863, at the 
office of the U. S. Coast 
Survey, under the special 
supervision of the late Pro- 
fessor Bache, the lamented 
Superintendent of the Sur- 
vey, and Vice President of 
the Commission. These 
contained some improve- 
ments upon the original in- 
strument, especially such 
as permitted more accu- 
rate adjustment to the per- 
son, as well as an addition- 
al gauge for measuring the 
height of the body proper, 
of which the seventh cer- 
vical vertebra was taken 
as the limit. When in Au- 
gust and September, 1864, 
the new instruments were 
ordered, Dr. Douglas kind- 
ly charged himself with the 
supervision of the work, 
which was executed with 
great care and fidelity by 
Mr. William Belcher of 
New York. In the new 
instruments many addi- 
1 Outlines of Military Surgery, 1855, pp. 35, 36. MEAN DIMENSIONS OF BODY. 
235 
tional improvements were introduced, a considerable part of them 
being suggested by the experience obtained by the use of the two 
former ones, which were themselves correspondingly modified as 
soon as they could be spared for the purpose. The annexed figures 
will indicate the general construction of the andrometer, and the 
manner of use. 
The graduations of this instrument, and of all our implements 
for linear measure, are in inches and tenths, all danger of error 
from the use of divisions not decimal being thus avoided. It is 
a source of regret to the author that he did not employ the met- 
ric system for all these measurements, not only as attended with less 
uncertainty on account of the smaller unit employed when centi-