DK. J. CLELAXD OX THE VAKIATIOXS OE THE HUMAX SKULL. 
171 
angle, is thus described in Sir George Ballingall’s Catalogue : — “ Skull found on the 
held of Kilsyth, blackened by lying in a moss, and showing several extensive wounds. 
Supposed to be the head of a Covenanter.” 38, skull of a Fife man named Edmunds, 
executed for the murder of his wife, under circumstances, however, of provocation. 39, 
skull of Haggart, a noted thief, who was executed. 40 is described in Sir George 
Ballingall’s Catalogue : — “ Skull showing extensive ulceration of the frontal bone, from 
a gunshot wound received at Waterloo, which the patient survived for many years. 
Some parts both of the frontal and the parietal bones are thickened to more than half 
an inch. Both tables of the skull had been involved in the ulcerative process, and an 
irregular opening is left of nearly 6 inches in circumference, the margins of which have 
been rounded off The nasal portions of the frontal bone, as well as the nasal bones 
and nasal processes of the superior maxillary bones, present a curious appearance. The 
ethmoid, lachrymal, and other small bones are quite destroyed. As most of the teeth 
of the upper and the whole of those of the lower jaw are wanting, and the alveolar 
processes absorbed, it is seen that the subject of this extensive injury, a field-officer in the 
army, must have lived to an advanced age.” 41 is a skull of a young man aged twenty. 
42 was not a Museum specimen, and may not have been preserved ; it appeared to be 
the skull of a middle-aged female, and was remarkable in this, that the sphenoidal wings 
did not reach up to the parietal bones. 43 is the skull of a female aged eighteen. Both 
41 and 43 were prepared under the writer’s observation. 
44 to 48, Modern Greek. — 44 and 45 are both marked “from Corfu.” 45 is injured 
at the back of the foramen magnum ; it is very unsymmetrical, and remarkable for the 
length of the foramino-optic line. The slope of the forehead may be fairly attributed 
to gravitation change. 46, 47, & 48 were preserved to show varieties of sabre cuts, and 
are described in Sir George Ballingall’s Catalogue as “ the skulls of patriot Greeks 
who fell in the actions between the Turkish and Greek forces, under General Church, 
in 1827. They were brought from the plain between the Piraeus and city of Athens, 
and presented by Dr. M c William, 11. N.” 46 is referred to in the text as an instance in 
which enlargement of the brain probably prevented the base from increasing in steep- 
ness, and thus elongated the base-line, throwing forwards the frontal bone. The posi- 
tion of parts which might have existed if this supposed action had not taken place is 
illustrated on the diagram by means of dotted lines ; it is the skull of a young man. 
47 appears to be the skull of an old person, and has a considerable articular surface at 
the back of the foramen magnum for the arch of the atlas. 
49 to 57, Irish. — 49 is the skull of a man named Hurley, from the neighbourhood 
of Galway, executed for a brutal murder. 50 is the skull of a young man named Lydon, 
from the neighbourhood of Galway, executed for the murder of his wife who had been 
unfaithful. 51 is the skull of a tall old man from Ballinasloe. The remaining six Irish 
skulls are all from the Abbey of Claregalway, where, as in some other neighbouring 
places, a peculiar custom with respect to burials prevails. There is no sexton ; but when 
a peasant dies, the friends dig a grave within or around the old ruins, displacing the 
