The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1873-11-18
A WONDERFUL MACHINE.

The. Brain, and What lie New Psy-
chology is PROVING About Its Fnnc-
tionS.
[Psoic:;ot YeOmAns In the Popular Science
What are the essence OF mind and the
essence Of matter, and whether they are
at the bottom Of two things or one thing,
are beyond ascertainment, and will prOba.
bly, ever remain 80. The nature Of union
Is mystery, just as the nature Of the
union between gravity and matter Is a
mystery; in both cases we investigate only
one Of the connections between two sys-
TENS oil action, the first step towards its
solution must be to resolve these two sys'
tens into their simplest elements. The
structural elements Of the nervous sys-
tens are marvelously simple; they consist
Of microscopic cells and fibers, the former
being seats or centers Of force, and the
latter being the means OF transmitting 1t.
Cells and fibers are the instruments OF
mental action, and exactly as we rise In
the scale oil intelligence In animated crea-
lures, there Is an Increase in the mass OF
nervous centers-that is, o multiplication
of the nerves and flbres which constitute
them. In man, the most intelligent Of the
animal series, the organ OF intelligence Is
relatively very large, and attains the
highest degree Of completely. Id. =,
Prot. Balm represents the nervous ele-
ments of the human brain as follows:
1.-THE thin cake OF gray substance sur
rounding the hemispheres OF the brain,
and extended into many doublings by the
frurowed or convoluted structure, issome;
what difficult to measure. II has been
estimated at 800 square inches, OF, as
nearly equal to square surface OF
eighteen inch es in the sidea Its thickness
Is variable, but, on the average, II may be
stated at one-tenth Of an inch. Its the
largest accumulation ofgray matter In the
body. 1t lis made up Of several layers Of
gray substance, divided by layers OF white
substance. The gray substance Is nearly
compact mass Of corpuscles OF variable
size. The large caudate3 nerve cells are
mingled with very small corpuscles, less
than the thousandth Of an inch In dame
ter. Allowing for intervals, we may sup.
pose that a linear row Of 500 cells occu-
pies an inch, thus giving 100000 to the
square inch for 300 inches. II one.half
the thickness Of the layer Is made up of
fbres, the corpuscles or cells, taken BY
themselves, would be mass one-twen-
tieth of an inch thick, say sixteen cells In
depth. Multiplying these numbers 10.
gether, we should reach total of ], 20O,.
900, 900 cells in the gray covering Of the
hemispheres. As every cell. is united
with at least two fibers, often many more,
we may multiply this number by four for
the number Of connecting fibers attached
TO the mass, which gives 4 800, 000, 900.
Now, In saying that such wonderful or.
ganism as this Is the seat and embodiment
Of the mind, we require to give distinct
ness 10 our conceptions, and are COMPEL
ed to regard the connected cells and fibres
as the simple instruments of simple men
tai processes, as the whole fabric Is an or
gan and measure of the whole mind. The
cbrporeal elements are cells and fibres-
what are the physical elements in their
lowest analysisPi The old division Of
the mind into faculties-as reason, judy
ment, memory, and imagination-is suth.
Gent, for these are far from being ultimate
elementary processes, but are rather the
most complex action of the complete
forces Of the intelligence in different
modes of exercise. The later psychology
resolves all these 80. called faculties into q
few constituents, which form, II we may
so speak, the conjecture Of the intellect.
AS Prof. Balm remarks: We, have no
power OF memory in radical separation
from the power Of reason or the power
OF imagination. The classification Is
tinted with the fault called in logic "croSs
division" The real fundamental separa-
ton of the powers oil the intellect Is Into
three facts called: First, discrimination,
the sense, feeling,o consciousness OF .dit.
ference; second, similarity, the sense, feel.
ing or consciousness OF agreement; and,
third, retentiveness, or the power Of mem.
DRY, acquisition. These three functions,
however mnch they are mingled IN our
operations, are yet totally distinct proper.
ties, and each the groundwork ,of. dlf-
ferent superstructure. As an ultimate
analysis OF the mental powers, their mum.
Der cannot be increased or diminished;
fewer would not explain the facts, more
are unnecessary. They are the intellect,
the whole intellect, and nothing but the
intellect.
.