Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1894-03-31
THE BRAIN OF WOMAN
WHEREIN ir DIFFERS MATERIALLY
FROM THAT or MAN.

II
Al kxper. whe Ha. Examined i.scc
Hrains Declares THAT the Two sexes Arc !
Radical, Different In Cerebral Nature.
intellectually and beauty.
| A Westminster Gazette writer inter- |
viewed Sir James Crichton browne at his |
| home In London.
Would you." asked the visitor, las an |
expert Ia questions connected with the |
brain. favor me with your views regarding |
| Professor Buchner's argument upon The |
/ Brain of womens'"
II ,vgard IL i.s very fallacious In biolog- |
| ical argument. The tone of Il IL objection
able. too, because Ii drags into the question
the matter OF inferioriiy and superiority m
between men and women, which, ! main
tain. Is beside the mark, Tor although Pro
fessor Buchner is writing merely popular
(, article he Il dealing with the arguments
and with the attitude of scientific men In
connection with this question, and he must
! know that scientists do not approach the
subject upon this ground Mt all.
Il do not say woman's brains Ia OF less
weight than mans brains. therefore she il
his inferior. Certainly not. But | do say
this. that there Is difference between the
male aud female brain, just rs there Is a
difference In their body formation. Briefly.
there Is inrntal difference. Just there Ia
ply siologiesl difference between the sexes
Woman does not possess the same bodily
proportions IA man nor the same strength
Of muscle. What she lacks In these direc-
tions Ia fully compensated for by her great
er beauty OF sorm and grace Of movement
In like manner. although she does not dis
play so strong a reasoning and critical fac-
: ulty as man. she exeels him In quick per-
ception and intuition"
"Would you tell me what are the struc-
tural differences between the male and the
female brssint''
First, there IL that Of mass and weighs
Noting the average difference In brain
weight--viz five ounces---and the average
difference nstature--viz. five inches--I still
find there Ii still an excess of brain weight
Of one ounce In favor of the male. ! have
! arrived at this conclusion by personal oh
? servation. having weighed the brains Of
some 600 men and women. All available
evidence points TO the conclusion that the
! male brain exceeds the female brain In
weight In this country TO an even greater
degree than has hitherto been believed. and
@ contend that the smaller size Of the female
I. brain Is sexual distinction and is not 10
z be accounted for on the ground of environ
q ment. education or habits of life"
But does quantity necessarily mean
}, quality"
NO, II does not, bnt quantity is the pri-
mary consideration. A large, massive
brain indicates great mental power. Com
pare the heads of the idiots at the Fast
z wood asylum with the heads, say Of tho
Fellows of the Royal society, aud you will
fiud my theory demonstrated. lie Bon has
made an examination OF the heads OF thres
classes--the peasants. shopkeepers and mer
nf science-with the result that the size o
the heads corresponds 10 the known Intel
lectual capacity Of the three different
Glasses"
Admitting your conclusion that tn
male brain Is at least one ounce heayie
than that OF the female, IL does not strik
me as being very great difference"
"0ne ounce OF 10 precious an organi
product a. brain tissue" said Sir Crlchto
-, Browne, "may mean great deal. That on
ounce evenly distributed over the surface Q
Oh the brain would certainly involve yer
W marked difference in mental capacity, bn
when You have an extra ounce localized
@ may be still more important.
nd This brings me to the second sexual d
~ tincIion In brains We have already cli
sidered weight. now we come 10 balance {
m parts. Professor Buchner says that III
~ frontal lobes are larger In the male; Bros
Al. declared that the occipitai lobes are moi
10 voluminous In the female, and my own o
ed servations. as far as they 10, confirm Br
lot cas- conclusion and show that while Il
ng frontal iobes are equally developed In bol
10 sexes the parietal lobes, the center OF q
ace brain, are larger In the male than In Il
female, aud the occipital lobes are larg
ds, in the female than in the male, and the
ftln Il
Inn part 10 her quicker perception. so
lind that not only Is the female brain Il
ied IN weight. but II Is different Ia shape.
'hd .fhe third brain difference between 1
on sexes Ii one of convolutional arrangemel
'ha The gray matter Of the brain Ia convoluts
ped and the extent Of the surface depends up
one these convolutions. We see IL through I
re animal kingdom. The rabbit and the mi
me moset monkey have smooth brains. Ma
convolutions mean much gray matter, a
~, lihl the female brain. being more symmetric
liee like her body, and not 80 much convolul
sed rs that OF the male. has consequently !
ne gray matter Some observations Of
.'u, own indicate that the specific gravity
the gray matter Is lower In the female q
o,h. In the male brain"
TOT DO you not think that the advanced
'ne ucation OF women will 10 measure Co
teract this diiferenceS"
'afn There Is AN exaggerated notion abr
=. OF what education can accomplish In
paiu veloping the brain. Education does
the impart faculties these are born In
you child Ii Is simply the guidance
''e. la growth
"r' sBnt faculties may lie dormant for
want OF education as they often do In
oue men, may they notf"
lof "rhey may. but fear that what woI
vys- gains intellectually by the higher ed
10. tion now In vogue she will lose In bes
anu and grace and often In health too. IL L
. %. 10 me like straining her faculties aga
4 nature. woman's personal charms arr
saa" greatest power-we must not have
.sa', destroyed-and she greatly excels ma
! my perception. intuition and the moral facl
'.n Among the Caro- national people dive
ON y range OF hills between the Bral
pootya and the soorma valleys-the wC
are supreme They WOO the men, they
'ticn trol the affairs of the home and the ma
lsris property dsscends through them, an
'hieh everything they are dominant, but
ID TO the seqnel-they are the very ugliest !
T and en- on the face of the earth"
loses. ---------------------