6o 



THE GROWTH OF THE BRAIN. 



sought to determine in school-children the significance 

 for subsequent growth of the size already attained. The 

 determination is, however, extremely difficult, since the 

 small children are not necessarily transformed into small 

 adults, nor is the small child at one age necessarily the 

 small child at the next period in its growth. 1 



While the statistics on weight just presented may be 

 all that are needful for our present purposes, it would 

 also be of value to know the course of weight increase 

 before birth. The table here given is compiled from 

 observations gathered by Vierordt. 2 



TABLE 4. COMPILED FROM VIERORDT TO SHOW THE INCREASE 

 IN WEIGHT FROM THE OVUM TO THE INFANT AT BIRTH. 



This shows amply how enormous is the^ increase in 

 weight during the first three-quarters of a year. From 

 0006 grms. to 3250 grms. is an increase of more than five 

 million fold, so that compared with this later growth is 

 a very feeble performance. The weight of the child at 

 birth is the resultant of several modifying conditions. 

 Minot 3 has brought together the data on this point, 

 and his facts are here summarised. The size of the child 

 is correlated with the size of the mother. Gassner states 

 that the average weight of the child is 5*23 percent, of 

 the maternal weight. It is also found that the heaviest 

 children are born to mothers aged about thirty-five years. 



1 Boas, Science, March i, 1895. 



= H. Vierordt, Daten tend Tabellen, 1893. 

 3 Minot, Human Embryology, 1892. 



