T© KELATIVE CATACITY OF RACES. 199 



The injBuence of race on the volume, "weiglit, disposition, and relative 

 proportions of the different subdivisions of the human brain, and so 

 of brain on the character of races, has thus far been very partially 

 tested. But the diversities of race head-forms— brachy cephalic, doli- 

 chocephalic, platycephalic, acrocephalic, &c. — are now well recognized, 

 though their relation t© cerebral development still requires much 

 research for its elucidation. The ancient Roman forehead, as illus- 

 trated by classic busts, and confirmed by genuine Roman skulls, was 

 low but broad, and the whole head was platycephalic. The Greek 

 had a high forehead, and the works of the Greek sculptors show 

 that this was regarded as typical. But contemporary with the classic 

 races were the Macrocephali of the Euxine and the Caspian Seas, 

 who, like many modern tribes of the New World, purposely aimed 

 at depressing a naturally receding forehead, and thereby exaggerated 

 the typical forehead characteristic of certain ancient barbaric races. 



In the case of hybrids the interchange of physical and mental char- 

 acteristics of the parents, including modifications of head-form, is a 

 familiar fact. The English head-form appears to be an insular pro- 

 duct of intermingled Briton, Teuton and Scandinavian elements, 

 which has no continental analogue; and its sub-divisions, or sub- 

 types, vary with the ethnical intermixture. The Scottish head 

 appears to exceed the English in length, while the latter is higher. 

 Where the Celtic element most predominates, the longer form of head 

 is found ; biit even in the most Teutonic districts the difference 

 between the prevaihng head-form and that of the continental German 

 is so marked that the latter finds it difficult to obtain an English- 

 made hat which will fit his head.* Here the diversities of head- form 

 are accomj)anied with no less marked differences of individual and 

 national character. 



Professor Welcker determined the average capacity of the German 

 male skull as 1450 cubic centimetres, equivalent to 88 cubic inches, 

 and representing an average brain-weight of 49 oz. Br. Davis, by a 

 similar process, assigns to the Germans, male and female, the larger 

 mean brain-weight of 50 '28 oz. ; but by combining the means of both 

 sexes, as derived from his own tables and those of Huschke and 

 Wagner, we obtain a mean weight of German brain of 1314 grms., 

 or 46-37 oz. The results of an extensive series of observations by 



* Vide "Physical Characteiistics of the Ancient and Modem Celt." Canadian Journal^ Vol. 

 WU., p. 369. 



