The Descent of Man

cording to the position of the valleys inhabited
by them.)
We have seen in the second chapter that the
conditions of life affect the development of the
bodily frame in a direct manner, and that the
effects are transmitted. Thus, as is generally
admitted, the European settlers in the United
States undergo a slight but extraordinary rapid
change of appearance. Their bodies and limbs
become elongated; and I hear from Col. Bernys
that during the late war in the United States,
good evidence was afforded of this fact by the
ridiculous appearance presented by the German
regiments, when dressed in ready-made
clothes manufactured for the American market,
and which were much too long for the men in
every way. There is, also, a considerable body
of evidence shewing that in the Southern States
the house-slaves of the third generation present
a markedly different appearance from the fieldslaves.
(66. Harlan, 'Medical Researches,' p. 532.