4Q 



The Musetim Gazette 



of the brain in different persons, different races, and in the 

 two sexes. We must not trust too implicitly to statistics or 

 to tabulated records. It is better to be content with general 

 results, and to state even these with great caution. 



There can, however, be but little doubt that the brain of 

 woman weighs less than that of man, and that this difference 

 is greatest in highly civilised races. The brains of the broad- 

 headed are, as a rule, somewhat heavier than those of the 

 long-headed. This conclusion has been arrived at by com- 

 paring the brains of different individuals of the same race, 

 not those of different races (Peschell, p. 70). 



There are some observations which support the conclusion 

 that the brain attains its greatest weight before 30 years of 

 age, and then undergoes diminution. At the age of 80 this 

 diminution is supposed to reach 10 per cent. The diminution 

 concerns the brain proper and the cerebellum, but not their 

 connecting part, the pons, which increases up to the fiftieth 

 year. Whilst it is, however, difficult to imagine methods by 

 which, without risk of great fallacy, such conclusions could be 

 arrived at, we may safely believe that the advance of age is 

 attended by some reduction in the size of the skull cavity 

 and the weight of its contents. 



It appears to be a constant law that with advance of civilisa- 

 tion the differences between the sexes in general become 

 increased. This is seen in measurements of the skull and in 

 the weight of the brain. In the brains of negroes the woman 

 is but little below that of the man, 984 to 1,000, but in the 

 English it is only 860, and Germans 838. These figures 

 indicate, of course, proportions only, and like all other calcu- 

 lations in this difficult subject, must be received with caution ; 

 but they probably indicate, if they do not precisely express, 

 the fact. 



The height of the skull is usually in inverse ratio to its 

 breadth. The variation in height is far less than is common 

 in breadth. 



