Little Falls transcript., 1886-07-23
PhrenOlogy.
The Philadelphia Inquirer.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer.
NJ. Dumas recently delivered the
funeral Grafton OF one Desbarolles,
professor OF palmistry, and in the
course Of his remarks spoke of Des-
barolles as having done for the hand
what Gall and Spurzheim had done
for the brain. II this parallel is to be
taken seriously it is not too much to
say that the science Of palmistry must
be regarded as practically extinct.
Phrenology to-day is an eifete branch
OF thought We look in vain for any
mention Of the word in the indices OF
works on the brain which deal with
the latest information science has elic-
tied respecting the organ of mind No
one possessing the most elementary
knowledge Of the progress science has
made within the last twenty years, in
the matter of the functions of the brain,
can for moment accord to phrenology
a stable position in the list of mod.
ern branches and modes of inquiry.
It is, perchance, only breaking but
terfly on che wheel and Staying the
slain to say so much.
But the science of Gall, Spurzhelm
and George Combe still survives in
holes and corners among us in the
shape of demonstrations by peripate-
tic phrenologists OF the characters"
OF their clients. Busts are still to be
seen and bought in which the human
head is mapped out into spaces OF
"destructiveness", and "veneration,"
areas Of "amativeness, ''form,"
"color," "language," and so forth.
There are many persons who still be.
lieve that the faculties ofhun1an nature
are all pigeon-holed, as the phrenologist
teaches, on the convour Of the brain
The reading Of character and the
constitution Of mind would be an ex.
traordinarily easy matter were such
things true. The brain, alas! is much
too complex an organ to be 50 lightly
disposed Of. 1t has taken the best
work of q quarter Of q century in mod
ern physiology to open the subject O!
brain functions, and it will occupy the
energies OF many years before we are
able definitely to sum UP clearly and
explicitly the exact nature of many OF
the brains ways and works.
But what we do know OF cerebral
structure and action Stays phrenolopv
more completely than it has ever been
disposed OF before. The work of Hit
zig, Fritsch, Ferrier and ,others has
taught us the new phreno logy- -thatol
experimental science. It has explod
ed the old myths about faculties
bumps" and brain organs, Of which
so much talk was heard half a century
gone. by. We are able to-day to indf
cate generally how the organ OF mind
works, how certain OF it's parts come
to the front over others, how
there should exist & lower HI and
higher 'tcenters'' in its sub
stance, how one part regulates speech
and another seeing and anoth near.
ing. Ii our hospitals for nervous dis
eases to-day the physician, from his
study IN the work OF the normal brain.
is able to place his fingeron the region
he regards as effected il his pat lent.
and posi- -mortem inquiry as wel Is
evidence of other kind ,eiis4S rone,lllt inta
the fed 'of research to confirm Els as
+ tions. Looking back to the daYsso,
palmistry and 500 thsa yiing % 81
the old phrenolo ology which still sur. sur
Wives N Sunlearned cles, d fit accom-.
panlnlent OF the :. science 4 of hands