New Hampshire Statesman And Concord Register

Effects of War. It is remarked in a statistical article in a French journal, that the effect of the wars of the revolution has been to diminish the stature of the human species in that country. This is explained in the following manner: Soldiers are formed only of men who, for their physical formation, are the elite of the youth of the country. For the space of thirty years, there was an immense consumption of such men; and in the mean time the care of re-peopling the country was left, in a greater part, to those men who were not large enough, strong enough, or well enough formed, for soldiers. The large proportion of men who are of a short stature is proved by the following facts: According to the report of the operations of the conscription in France for the year 1826, in the number of 1,033,422 young men who were examined by the officers of revision, 380,213 were rejected because they were not four feet six inches in height. The French foot is about three quarters of an inch longer than ours, and consequently four feet six inches French, are equal to about four feet nine and a half inches of our measure. After the rejection of the above proportion of men for the French army it is ascertained from the inspections, that thirty-seven in a hundred are under five feet one inch in height, and only forty-five in a hundred, over five feet two inches. From these facts it would seem, that after rejecting in the proportion of one third, for want of sufficient size, one half the soldiers of the French army are under five feet six inches, of our measure, in height.

Boston Daily Advertiser.