| Arches | 6·5 | per cent. | |
| Loops | 67·5 | " | |
| Whorls | 26·0 | " | |
| Total | 100·0 |
From this it appears, that on the average out of every 15 or 16 digits, one has an arch; out of every 3 digits, two have loops; out of every 4 digits, one has a whorl.
This coarse statistical treatment leaves an inadequate impression, each digit and each hand having its own peculiarity, as we shall see in the following table:—
Table I.
Percentage frequency of Arches, Loops, and Whorls on the different digits,
from observations of the 5000 digits of 500 persons.
| Digit. | Right Hand. | Left Hand. | ||||||
| Arch. | Loop. | Whorl. | Total. | Arch. | Loop. | Whorl. | Total. | |
| Thumb | 3 | 53 | 44 | 100 | 5 | 65 | 30 | 100 |
| Fore-finger | 17 | 53 | 30 | 100 | 17 | 55 | 28 | 100 |
| Middle do. | 7 | 78 | 15 | 100 | 8 | 76 | 16 | 100 |
| Ring do. | 2 | 53 | 45 | 100 | 3 | 66 | 31 | 100 |
| Little do. | 1 | 86 | 13 | 100 | 2 | 90 | 8 | 100 |
| Total | 30 | 323 | 147 | 500 | 35 | 352 | 113 | 500 |
The percentage of arches on the various digits varies from 1 to 17; of loops, from 53 to 90; of whorls, from 13 to 45, consequently the statistics of the digits must be separated, and not massed indiscriminately.
Are the A. L. W. patterns distributed in the same way upon the corresponding digits of the two hands? The answer from the last table is distinct and curious, and will be best appreciated on rearranging the entries as follows:—
Table II.