When the Nails are found very long, the general constitution never appears to be so strong as when they are medium in size.
Persons with long Nails are more liable to all diseases of the Lungs and Chest ([Plate V]., Part II.), and still more so when these long Nails are seen ribbed or fluted, with the ribs running upward from the base to the edge of the nail.
The same type of Nail, but shorter in appearance, indicates that the delicacy lies higher up towards the throat, and denotes tendencies for laryngitis, inflammation of the throat, and all bronchial troubles.
When especially long Nails are bluish in colour, they denote a still more delicate constitution, coupled with poor circulation of the blood.
SHORT NAILS
Nails short in appearance denote a tendency towards weak action of the heart, more especially so when the "moons" are very small or barely noticeable. When the Nails appear very flat and sunk into the flesh at the base they denote nerve diseases. When they are "ribbed" across the Nail from side to side, the danger is still more apparent.
When a deep furrow is found across the Nail, it is a sign in any hand that an unusual call has recently been made on the nervous system by illness. If the following rule be studied, the date of this illness or strain can be very clearly indicated.
As it takes about nine months for a nail to grow out from the base to the outer edge, the nail can easily be divided into sections. When the furrow or very deep "rib" is seen close to the edge, the illness took place about nine months ago; when the furrow is seen about the centre, the date was about from four to five months, and when at the base, about one month previously.