212 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Among the peculiarities of the female skull the following are 

 definitely determined by Rebentisch, Mantegazza, Schaffhausen, 

 and others. The skull of woman is smaller, the base relatively 

 contracted, and the crown larger. The forehead is more nearly 

 perpendicular, making a sharper angle with the flatter crown. 

 The glabella and ridges above the eyes are less prominent. The 

 parietal protuberances are more developed, but the occipital pro- 

 tuberances and the mastoid processes under the ears are less so. 

 The lower jaw is smaller and more rounded. Relatively to the 

 size of the head the face is slightly smaller and lower, and there 

 is a little more prognathism than in man. 



The long-disputed questions about woman's brain are now 

 approaching solution in a few leading points. In the first place, 

 woman's brain is of less absolute weight than man's, the propor- 

 tion among modern civilized races being about nine to ten. This 

 fact in itself has little significance, as man is heavier and taller 

 than woman. If we consider the weight of the brain relatively 

 to the height of the body, it still appears that woman's brain is 

 smaller ; but if, as is more just, we consider the weight of the 

 brain relatively to the weight of the body, it appears that there is 

 nearly perfect equality, the difference, if any, being in favor of 

 woman. These results are still of little value, for, as fairly pointed 

 out by Havelock Ellis, other corrections must be made, such as 

 this, that woman has relatively more fat and less muscle than 

 man, the latter, of course, making greater demands upon the brain. 

 On the whole it appears that there is no considerable difference, 

 such as there is being in woman's favor. Of more significance in 

 its bearing upon woman's mental capacity is the relative size of 

 the different parts of the brain. Here it is shown that the lower 

 centers as compared with the hemispheres are larger in the female 

 brain. In the cerebrum itself the frontal region is not, as has 

 been supposed, smaller in woman, but rather larger relatively. 

 The same is true of the occipital lobe. But the parietal lobe is 

 somewhat smaller. It is now believed, however, that a prepon- 

 derance of the frontal region does not imply intellectual superi- 

 ority, as was formerly supposed, but that the parietal region is 

 really the more important. As a balance, perhaps, to these female 

 deficiencies, we may note that the circulation of the blood seems 

 to be somewhat greater in woman's brain. In respect to her 

 whole physical structure woman is less modified than man and 

 shows less tendency to variation. Women are more alike than 

 men. 



Before proceeding to consider the purely mental peculiarities 

 of woman, we may pause for a moment to ask whether the facts 

 already cited have any bearing upon the various theories regard- 

 ing woman's nature that were mentioned above. Concerning the 



