32 British Association for the Advancement of Science. 



but which were too much in detail for perusal before the Sec- 

 tion. The conclusion to be drawn from these dissections is, that 

 in the brain of idiots the internal structure is always defective, 

 and, in many instances, more so than the size or external form ; 

 and that in the brains of persons not idiotic, but possessing various 

 degrees of intellectual power, very marked differences in internal 

 structure may be observed by those who dissect the brain in the 

 manner first proposed by Dr. Macartney, in a paper read by him 

 before the British Association, and published in their Transac- 

 tions for 1833. It is a most reasonable supposition, from the facts 

 just mentioned, and from observation of the structure of the brain 

 in animals, that the intellectual and moral character is much in- 

 fluenced by peculiarities in the organization of the various plex- 

 uses or ganglia, of which the brain essentially consists. Phre- 

 nologists have wholly neglected the internal structure of the 

 brain, and have confined their attention to the size of certain 

 portions at the surface ; a method which is calculated to mis- 

 lead, — amongst other reasons, because the surface of the brain is 

 not the only part essential to the exercise of the intellectual and 

 moral qualities, and size is a very inadequate measure of power, 

 unless the structure of the part be also taken into consideration. 

 As an example of an erroneous method of investigation, Mr. Car- 

 lile quoted an elaborate paper, by the celebrated Tiedemann, in 

 the Philosophical Transactions, in which he concludes, from meas- 

 urements of the size of the cranial cavity in Negroes and in Eu- 

 ropeans, that the faculties of both are alike; whereas, *it is well 

 known to those who have opportunities of observing the children 

 of Negroes and of Europeans educated together at the same school, 

 that, as long as the perceptive faculties chiefly are employed, equal 

 progress is made by both classes of children ; but that as soon as 

 the reflecting and comparing powers are required, as in the learn- 

 ing of mathematical or other inductive sciences, the inferiority 

 of the Negro is almost uniformly made manifest. Mr. Carlile 

 concluded, by inviting the attention of physiologists to the exam- 

 ination of the minute structure of the brain, and stated his con- 

 viction, that by a comparison of its peculiarities with the differ- 

 ences of mental capacity observed during life, much light would 

 be thrown on the functions of difl'erent parts of this organ. 



The Plague. — Mr. Urquhart read a paper, ' On the Localities 

 of the Plague in Constantinople.' He stated, as the result of three 



