82 fijAIN facts for old and young 



presented to him. This difference in the conformation 

 of the skull is undoubtedly due to a difference in mental 

 character, which, in turn, depends upon a difference 

 in cerebral development. 



There has been much discussion as to which sex 

 possesses the stronger brain. The fact that the brain 

 of the average woman weighs but forty-two ounces, 

 while that of the average man weighs forty-nine 

 ounces, has been stated as evidence that there is a cor- 

 responding difference in mental capacity. Those who 

 advocate this theory seem to have lost sight of the fact 

 that size alone is by no means a measure of power. 

 The elephant possesses a much larger brain than the 

 largest human brain ever weighed, and yet the intelli- 

 gence of the elephant, remarkable as it is for a beast, 

 is infinitely inferior to that of man. Quality as well 

 as quantity must be taken into consideration, and it 

 must be shown that the physical organization of man 

 is finer in quality than that of woman, before the claim 

 of superiority can be established. It is certainly rea- 

 sonable to suppose that the female brain, as well as 

 the female bones and muscles, is of a finer texture and 

 more delicate organization, and hence is possessed of 

 greater intelligence than the male brain of equal size. 



But the most remarkable fact of all, and one which 

 seems to have escaped the attention of those who have 

 written upon this subject, is that the comparison of the 

 male and female brains has been made without regard 

 to the relative average sizes of male and female bodies. 

 The average man is larger than the average woman; 

 he has larger bones, larger muscles, and in all respects 

 a much larger development; while the average woman 

 possesses small bones and muscles, though having a 

 larger proportion of adipose tissue. But the average 



