n CRANIAL CAPACITIES. 107 



No doubt, this is a very striking difference, but 

 it loses much of its apparent systematic value, 

 when viewed by the light of certain other equally 

 indubitable facts respecting cranial capacities. 



The first of these is, that the difference in the 

 volume of the cranial cavity of different races of 

 mankind is far greater, absolutely, than that be- 

 tween the lowest Man and the highest Ape, while, 

 relatively, it is about the same. For the largest 

 human skull measured by Morton contained 114 

 cubic inches, that is to say, had very nearly double 

 the capacity of the smallest; while its absolute pre- 

 ponderance, of 52 cubic inches — is far greater 

 than that by which the lowest adult male human 

 cranium surpasses the largest of the Gorillas 

 (62— 34J = 27J). Secondly, the adult crania of 

 Gorillas which have as yet been measured differ 

 among themselves by nearly one-third, the maxi- 

 mum capacity being 31.5 cubic inches, the mini- 

 mum 21 cubic inches; and, thirdly, after making 



brain, weighing as little as 970 grammes, is that of an 

 idiot; but the brain of an adult woman, against the 

 soundness of whose faculties nothing appears, weighed as 

 little as 907 grammes (55.3 cubic inches of water) ; and 

 Reid gives an adult female brain of still smaller capacity. 

 The heaviest brain (1872 grammes, or about 115 cubic 

 inches) was, however, that of a woman; next to it comes 

 the brain of Cuvier (1861 grammes), then Byron (1807 

 grammes), and then an insane person (1783 grammes). 

 The lightest adult brain recorded (720 grammes) was that 

 of an idiotic female. The brains of five children, four 

 years old, weighed between 1275 and 992 grammes. So 

 that it may be safely said, that an average European child 

 of four years old has a brain twice as large as that of an 

 adult Gorilla. 



