256 Berry (ind Bucliner : 



o. The third and hist source of error is the undoubted presence 

 in many of the casts, in how many it is impossible to say, of post 

 niortetn oedema. This source of error is the most interesting of 

 the three, as it raises the whole (piestion of the i>hysiological causes 

 of death in judicial death by hanging. To this interesting phase 

 of the subject we shall recur later. 



In view of these tlnee undoubted sources of error, which were 

 patently obvious to us before even more than two or three of 

 the casts were measured, it became a real problem as to whether 

 it Avas worth while continuing the research. In view, however, of 

 the interesting possibilities opened up by the source of error due 

 to the oedema, we decided to contintie the work, and Ave shall pre- 

 sently relate the methods adopted by us to reduce the threefold 

 source of error to a minimum for the purposes of estimating the 

 cubic capacity of brain. Before dealing Avith this point, it Avill 

 be well to say sometliing of the sex and nationality of the material, 

 and of the technique employed by us in the research. 



As already stated., our material comprises the casts of the heads 

 of .■).'5 criminals hanged for murder and other crimes in Melbourne 

 between the years 1853 and 1904. Amongst tliese are some of 

 AA-orld-wide notoriety, such as Albert Williams, alias " Deeming," 

 Edward or " Ned " Kelly, the celebrated Australian bushranger, 

 as also " Captain " George Melville, and many other equally in- 

 famous but less Avell known murderers. Of the .■)■) all are males 

 except 3, the three females being Martha Needle, hanged upon the 

 22nd October, 1894; Frances Knorr, on the IHth January, 1894; 

 and Emma Williams, ujion tlie 4th November, 1805. 



As regards nationality, all but three are Caucnsiaii, the three 

 exceptions being Fatta Chand, a Hindu, Ah C.aa a Chinese, and 

 Frederick Jordan, an American negro. Tlie oedema already re- 

 fened to was particularly Avell marked in the case of the Chinese. 



Of the remaining 27 male Caucasians, all are of Anglo-Saxon 

 stock except three — namely, Filipi CastiUo. an Italian. August 

 Tisler, a Russian Finn, and Basilio Bondietto, a Swi.ss Italian. 



'I'ho ages are, in the majority of cases, unknown to us, and this 

 notwitlistanding a careful search through tlie legal nrords ; the 

 reason, of course, being tliat in many instances the antecedents of 

 t.hese criminals were nllogether unkrioAvn even to the properly-con- 

 ixtitutefl h^gal authorit ios. AVe cannot, tlierefori". deal witli the 

 (luesfion of age. 



Such being the material, we may now i)ass to the techniipie. 

 Til.' incasui-einents Avere the niaxiiiiuni length, maximum breadth 

 ami auridilar height, and the mode of recording thcMu was in 



