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 

 between the lowest Man and the highest Ape, 

 while, relatively, it is about the same. For the 

 largest human skull measured by Morton con- 

 tained 114 cubic inches, that is to say, had very 

 nearly double the capacity of the smallest ; while 

 its absolute preponderance, of 52 cubic inches is 

 far greater than that by which the lowest adult 



\veighed between 1200 and 1400 grammes, and that about two- 

 ninths, consisting for the most part of male brains, exceed 1400 

 grammes. The lightest brain of an adult male, with sound 

 mental faculties, recorded by Wagner, weighed 1020 grammes. 

 As a gramme equals 15*4 grains, and a cubic inch of water con- 

 tains 252 '4 grains, this is equivalent to 62 cubic inches of 

 water ; so that as brain is heavier than water, we are perfectly 

 safe against erring on the side of diminution in taking this as 

 the smallest capacity of any adult male human brain. The only 

 adult male brain, weighing as little as 970 grammes, is that of 

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

 ness 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. 



