The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-03-03

WHAT THE HiT CONFOEWi ron Tells
ABOTT DIFFERENT i'LOPLE


uiggcst Head and the Smniic~i-- NaInabie
Information tor she >tndcnt VI Cnnraeier.
The ScicntWc imfricrD gives description
Of the working " the familiar machine for tax
ing The oNdrt shap" of the head FOR the purpose
VI hHing to It stiff sil hat This ingenious
roniormator Is the invention " u Mr. Allie ol
Paris. who is ia sole manufacturer md it,
present cost is sl0O-a large price.
Apart from its utility 10 hattrrs and their crs-
TONER'S the conformation H. employed for scien-
tnc investigation in the study " nnihrorology
or rather In that branch II the sci, nee known
as craniology. The object NJ the observer. saws
Nirnhow. T. to detect n definite connection bc.
tween the shape of the Uranium. tho confOrma-
ton of tl, fncn aud the structure oi
tho brain" To this end large numbers
of skull measurements nrc taken reach
ing down to the minutest details Roper.
nicki has made no less than i39 such measure
mcnts. Unfortunately however. there is much
disagreement ~ TO how the mcasurcmcnts
should bc regarded, or how many even in mum.
Dor they should be: $40 that while in the end
some importunt general laws will probably be-
based upon them. ut present there Is not much
to be dcducch. Somc curious fnets are. how
ever ohtainabe by observing relative lengths
and hrcadths OF skulls. and for this purposc the
conformutor IL cxrcllcntly suited to nssist the
student. In these stigations the longi.
tulinal diameter f. rated as 10O and tho
lateral diameter il expressed in percent
age Of tho units. This percentage itself ~
termed tho "index Of breadth" Completely
circular skulls. roschel says Of which
tho index Of breadth amounts to 100. and even
/ more than 100. occur both in North Amrrirn
and among the Pcruvlans ani the Chihcha OF
New Granada they owe their form, however
10 an artificial pressure Of tho skull. and ar,
therefor excluded from. comparison. O,hcr;
wise complete roundncss Is most noHrlv attained
hy n skull from Tariarv, Of which 977 ~ the
index Of breadth. With this Huxley contrasts II
head from Now I"alqnd y c29 ~ The narrow
ost Of all known skulls. Barnard Davis has OBJ
tanned. however. a so-callcd Ccltie skull which
has An indcx u -. So that these indic,s for cx-
tremes ilu"tuntc between - an -. hut the nv
crngr IL only between 81 uni about -.
The Scientific american has Obtained from
several we'll known haiters of this city tho con.
forms OF tho heads of several mon in different
walks ~ life. which ar" presented below on II
reduced scale. ~ eniarginG the drawings 10y
the scale giv"n. the reader Will obtain the di-
mensions Of the conforms Each large division
q the scale rtIr',-'nt7 one inch. ant each inch
ured longitudinal and transverse diameter Of
these last add 1 =, inches. aud the natural size
Of the head will be- obtained.
King kalakaua seems 20 have head curiouslv
protubcrunt along the entire lott side. and IN
marked contrast with that of Mr.. MHnton Mar
bile whose conform shows protulnrnnpn on tho
rear. and almost ndeniniion forward on the
same side. II will also be- observed that in nj
most every example here giv"n-and tho same
the loft side j. most proiuberant II may he
surm-ei that there II some possible cunne'-
tion between This circumstance and the fact
pointed out by Brown S6Iunrd. that the leit lobe
ofthe brain comes into greater use, in ~c"ntrn
81 the right side 81 The body. than the right lobe
which governs the left side. SIN. there can ie
no general rulo safely laid down 60 account fnl
lack of symmctry Ia the Uranium. amy NOR,
than one rRn he adluccd to explain differences
in phy-iQSnomy. II j. very probable. However
that outsidn influences acting upon the soft uu-
closed skull Of Ia" infant in some measure d..
t"rmln" lis shape. IL. for example, a constant
habit nf resting the head while sleeping upon
one or the other side
A. regards tho variation In the shapes II the
heads OF different Municipalities. a large amount
Of statistics has been gathered Even the aver.
age proportions OF the skull vary within TN,
limits Of the individual races. Wclck"r hn.
found among the Ma.nys variations from IS t.
- in index OF breadth. In Swcde- the nvcrng,
index Of breadth Is I5.2: Datch. 7J.3: English
20; Danes and Iccanders. 16.l: Germans ~
high N SOL Croais and Clrchs ~ 10 -. Ger.
man Au-tr!ans. 1s.s: Ancient GreOAs. -: An.
ccnt Romans. ~: but 20 wide nrc the warm.
tions that IL Is impcssibl" t. infer the racin
derivation Of skull from is index If breadth
toNTGnNfATIpNS or WTII-KNOWs III Ans