LECTUEE III. 83 



becomes flattened by its own weight; in short, changes its 

 form, despite of all efforts to support it. The mass is so rapidly- 

 decomposed, that, in order to study the various parts, it must 

 be indurated in some such fluid as spirits of wine. In short, 

 there are a variety of circumstances which render comparative 

 investigations of this organ specially difiicult, so that we must 

 proceed with the greatest accuracy and caution . 



The weight of the brain has been especially taken into con- 

 sideration, and the investigations of the English have, in this 

 respect, been conducted on a much larger scale than those of 

 the French and the Germans. Thus Dr. Boyd weighed not 

 merely the brains, but also the other organs, of 2,086 males 

 and 1,061 females of all ages ; whence it resulted that in the 

 adult the male brains varied from 1,366 to 1,285 grammes, and 

 the female brains from 1,238 to 1,127 grammes, so that the 

 highest cerebral weight of the female is much less than the 

 lowest in the male. Among the insane (528 cases were inves- 

 tigated) the variations in the weight of the brain are much 

 greater than among such as died from other diseases ; and it 

 seems to us that such investigations ought to be pursued on an 

 extensive scale, and in detail. There are cerebral diseases, or 

 psychical disturbances, such as mania, connected with great 

 exaltation of cerebral activity ; whilst there are other mental 

 states in which the cerebral activity is evidently diminished. 

 Very possibly the greater variation in weight may depend on 

 such alternate conditions ; but this, however, can only be 

 clearly ascertained from a great number of observations. Thus, 

 in "Wagner's tables of the weights of various brains we find by 

 the side of intellectually gifted men such as Cuvier, brains of 

 insane and hydrocephalic subjects, in whom the cerebral sub- 

 stance itself was evidently affected. 



Eegarding the question of the possible development of the 

 brain, it becomes important to note the relation of the size 

 and weight of the cerebral mass to the intelligence of the in-r 

 dividual. It has been generally observed, that highly gifted 

 individuals possess a comparatively large skull, an opinion 

 which prevails among the people generally, especially in France. 

 I have, hundreds of times, heard the expression, " a good head, 



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