In paper 51 of this series a method was described by means of which it was possible to determine the surface area of living subjects. On the basis of the measurements of five persons of widely varying body shapes, a formula was devised by Mr. Delafield Du Bois which gave an average error of only 1.7 per cent. when applied to the persons measured. The number of subjects was rather small and it has seemed best to continue the work and apply the formula to persons of unusual shapes.
Since the publication of the previous paper, in which the literature was reviewed, a number of references have come to light largely through the attention of Dr. Francis G. Benedict of the Nutrition Laboratory of Boston. The work of Sicheff2 is of considerable importance. Working in Gundobin's clinic he applied the methods used by Meeh to twenty-four children