CAPACITY FOR SCIENTIFIC PURSUITS 119 



ter of the convolutions of the organ of thought and the 

 degree of intelligence of its possessor. 



Contrary to what is generally believed, a large brain is 

 not always an indication of superior capacity or intelli- 

 gence. There have been, it is true, a number of men of 

 genius who were the possessors of large brains, but there 

 have also been others whose brains were of but medium 

 weight. 



The largest known brains of intellectual workers were 

 those of Cuvier, the noted zoologist, and Turgenieff, the 

 distinguished novelist. The brain of the Frenchman 

 weighed 1830 grams, while that of the Russian totaled 2012 

 grams. Among other large brains even larger than Cu- 

 vier 's were those of a bricklayer, which weighed 1900 

 grams, and of an ordinary laborer, which reached 1924 

 grams. The largest brains on record were that of an igno- 

 rant laborer named Rustan, which weighed 2222 grams; 

 that of a weak-minded London newsboy, which weighed 

 2268 grams, and that of a twenty-one-year-old epileptic 

 idiot, which had the unheard of weight of 2850 grams. 1 



The seven largest recorded female brains were three 

 weighing 1580 grams each, one of which belonged to a 

 medical student of marked ability, while the other two 

 belonged to quite undistinguished women. There were two 

 others weighing 1587 each, one of which belonged to an 

 insane woman. Still heavier than these by far were the 

 brains of an insane woman who died of consumption, and 

 of a dwarfed Indian squaw. The brain of the first weighed 

 1742 grams; while that of the second was no less than 

 2084 grams. 



From the foregoing examples it is evident that a large 

 brain is far from being a certain index of mental capacity 

 or of superior intelligence. It is frequently the very re- 



i Cf . Das Eirngewicht des Menschen, pp. 21 and 137, by Theodor L. 

 W. von Bischoff, Bonn, 1880, and Dr. G. van Walsem in Neurolo- 

 gisches Centralblatt, pp. 578-580, Leipsic, July 1, 1899. 



