346 AVERAGE WEIGHT OF THE BRAIN IN THE 



Parochial Infirmary, in London, and 528 were patients dying in the Somerset County 

 Lunatic Asylum* These refer to English brains solely, and so do the 470 cases of 

 Dr. Thurman.f A considerable number of French skulls belonging to different pe- 

 riods were gauged by Dr. Paul Broea.J 



The actual testing of the weight of the brain by manipulation and the balances 

 has hitherto been almost wholly confined to Europeans. Observations on exotic 

 brains have been very few, and probably may not be much increased for some time 

 to come. We are therefore under the necessity to revert to Tiedemann's and Mor- 

 ton's proceeding, — that of gauging the capacity of the cranium, — in order to ascertain 

 the volume of the brain in the numerous races of mankind, where their skulls can be 

 procured. Morton's large collection afibrded him materials for his valuable tables. 

 A still more numerous collection, and equally diversified in the races they represent, 

 except in the case of aboriginal American races, having been formed by myself, has 

 offered me the opportunity of calculating the weights of the brains in a considerable 

 number of cases. One object I have kept in Adew has been to endeavor to distinguish 

 the sexes separately, which Morton did not attempt. In a great many instances this 

 could only be effected by observing the peculiarities of the crania themselves, and re- 

 ferring them to the male or female sex, according to the indications they present. As 

 there are no infallible rules by which to distinguish the skulls of men from those of 

 women, there is no doubt cases must have intervened in which mistakes have occurred- 

 Still, in the vast majority of cases there is not the slightest reason to question that 

 the two sexes have been indicated with correctness. The few doubtful ones cannot 

 be of any importance. This will render our tables and results somewhat more accu- 

 rate than those of Morton, who, provided they had reached the age of sixteen years, 

 included all skulls in one and the same category, without marking males or females. 

 The lesser volume and weight of the brains of women of all races are constant and 

 specific. 



But it is in the next point to which I shall advert that a greater accuracy has 

 been aimed at than can be perceived in the tables of Morton. It is noteworthy that 

 his experiments were confined to gauging the capacities of the skulls of his fine col- 

 lection, now permanently possessed by the Academy, and reducing them to cubic 

 inches. And when he had obtained this cubic capacity, he appears to have con- 

 sidered it to be, and actually designated it as, "the size of the brain," although no one 

 was better acquainted with the actual contents of the cranium. His words are, after 

 describing his method : " I thus obtain the absolute capacity of the cranium, or bulk 



* Tables of the Weights of the Human Body and Internal Organs in the Sane and Insane of both Sexes at 

 various ages. By Eobert Boyd, M.D. 

 fOo the Weight of the Brain, and on the Circumstances affecting it. By John Thurman, IVI.D. 

 X Sur la capacite des cranes parisiennes des diverges epoques. Bull, de Soc. 'd'Anthropol., t. iii, p. 102. 



