Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-01-11

tha ,,,reIv physical evidence Of ones IN
tellectual capacity. In the December ms"
Der OF the Popular Science montnly IT
Joseph Sifnms decredits severh' sue"
tions. % .h.~a
ss,rs,ons Ia the belief that ability AFRO
forco Of character are proporuonai
Weight Of brain matter. on this pom, ~
simms has collected a great deal VI
teresting data The heaviest Drain
longing TO a talented person OF wn'.n
has heen aba 10 obtain any definite intor
n~s 70 that OF the novelist Turgenien-
T,his weighed II ounces at the time
~ his death The Scottish phy
stefan Abercrombic had o. ounces
OF brain, the Scotusn :, 1.,.r
Abercromby g. and General u. r. SUE .
the same Another group OF nine en' en- ~
men. including Thackeray. Cavier anu s.o
infamous jeffrey. had brains "eisn,s
tween IS and 5ss ounces. The antno, o.
"Vanitv Fair" then, was blessed WIZ
ounces less than the man who wrote ~
mitri Roudne" The first Nspv.eon,
Daniel Webster. Agassiz, ana 'na as
are among twenty-one famous sss
uhose brains weighed from 90 10 90
ounces II IL instructive to compare the
ondoxments Of the hero OF jena nno
Austerlitz with those OF the leader OF 'ho
! expedtion against Fort Fisher. anu ny. ~
! IN recall that the latter had aoou,
ounces more pulp inside his Uranium sha''
the greatest general OF modern ,iihe
| In another group OF twenty-five men
| having from 40 10 $50 ounces OF otMh'
1 ona finds Grote. Babbage. Bertliion' Lie
| big bishop (the mind readerl ana JAM
! betta. The figures given LOT the ia'.
| named are 4O9 Now. the average Weis"e
| OF the brains OF several nuhoreS 49,
! nv Dr Royd 60 be $50 ounces. ana TOT
hovs ranging from TO years io2. cam
| betta steered the French republic through
| one OF its most dangerous crises
His death was pronounced the SUI
| den extinction of powerful ihoiN,"
force one of the most powerful lnueeu,
| az such forces hitherto operating ia
frurone" Yet In the scales his brain
counted for less than that OF the aver
age boy OF ~ ,,,.c Tho
cualttv Of a mans mind from the weight
of the organ In which it resides IS iut,ner
illustrated by the following Statements,
An idiot boy of II. who nearly kil.eu ,n'
sister had a brain Weighing 51o ounces,
Another IDIOT who was older, possesseo
, 5o5 ounces. an amount equalled by ohy
, ave ounces OF the famous men In Dr.
? Slmms's list. and yet exceeded oy az
q least eleven persons who were "
] tinctively idiotic. Or. Ireland CITES ~.
$ | imbecile for instance with 1o5 ounces Oh
I hroir and there IS a record OF an illte.
?, rate and ,yeak-minded man with rs
y | ounces. The Army Medical Museum, IN
Z | yvashineton contains the brain OF
i dwarfed Indian squaw which weighed ISo
e ounces and even these ngures are eA
n ceaded I'm the case cited OF Bischon' Oh a"
/. Ignorant workman. Russian, who is credit
d ed with 1873 ounces. -
" "Physiology." makes the average prsin
l. weight for men 50.2 ounces f'orSisn au
d ,borities give other figures. and these arc
r higher than DR.. Flints in most cases. ~,
Is Simms strikes an average. and ADOPTS o.S
n "a n standard. The mean Tor MS slhy
s famous men IS only 5l.S ounces ihaN'as
II them on the whole below the average OF
l. or,l,narv men I'm the quantity OF their
to bratns But the mean for DIT Simnis
he idiots and imbeclies IS 59i ounces
81 THE folly OF attempting 10 Judge Oh
Of man nv his cranial bumps" was exposen
e. many years ago by OhVer "e"u i,.a
3 Holmes. lie made the professor ~
r breakfast table say: Ihe vans ~ -,
no head are double. with great chniio'i
IL atr betwean them. over the smallest anu
Ia ost orovded organs. Can you tel me
or ho,y much money there is In the sale,
es which also has thick walls 10y hhedul's
ed tho knobs with your fngersF % Wnsn ,,' :.
lie man fumbles about my forehead @hu 'ai ,.
a about the organs OF individuality anu So et,
D 1 tVflgf
tn over the outside OF my strong poN anu 'ol'
er - .tat there was a fye-dollar or Ten
SaItar rim under this or that riVeL rel'
. bars there is. only he doesn't Kho" any
ry thing about IT, nj. - ,,,dse ~ IN.
,sl Not only Is II impossible 10 Judge ., w.
oil brain bv external appearance an" ~ -,
,is hut even when the size OF the 49,
ne within affords little Gle" 10 " - Geo.
gts ~ matter therein. Except IN rare 49,
-, - dtsease. SAYS Or. Simms, the prsi'
&c 80 not fiji the skull II IL sufiounus'
10 nv, three membranes and a "a'eiy nus s,
nts II tho weight OF a mans orain inu'
OF Gates anything at all, 1t IS more hnei D.: y
To- / tell his nationality ana pr1hp'"e. !,
10 bou, Gifted he S. Ii has Deen noteo :
On tobIos NJ brain weights that cold nor u
nd ern countries produce bigger brains ina
..S, ,,,s,r, tropical ones do. The laTses
ing average is attained in Scotland. .,,,o
70 Another popular error is the suppos''io
mol that large cOnvOluttOns ana ueep ~,
on tortuous passages between the supu.s,
md ions OF q brain petray supeilol -,
oee Certain rodents like the beaver e''n'
tsh q Mon order Of intelligence and enginee,
80 Co., elul and yet their brains are deVoi
90 ! ~ conyolutions. Again. the Mhale "'
cvt a larger brain which Is DIVIDED py ue'
ago assures. but the creature menta' 49,
in Is INSIGNIFICANT compared with ma"
tob Ron the elephant. intelligent as IL
|
: its brain is larger than the human oIhi
ar and the assures I'm it are much more CON
ded nlicated and tOrtu0us.
nm A theory that has been received wa
an considerable favor relates TO the coaVl
az - gray matter that overles the brain ar
ing dins down into the assures ms SUI
hts stance also known as the 'corteA' ~
dge been supposed TO be the seat or the nls
CAV est order Of mental action, ana men,
,,,b- conacitv has therefore been measured
Nv Tho thickness OF the cOrtical layer 1T
~ such estimates are unwarranted - =
.nu- nositive conviction Of Or. Simms lie p'
In sents only a little evidence on TINS poii
airs but that little is OF a striking charae''
All The average thickness OF the gray ma
and ter IL one-hfth OF an inch. But IN Dan
II Webster there was only one-siNteeh'h
nan an inch-less than one-third OF the nc
Iess- NAL amount. In many 81 the lo"eI az
10, ! mails and I'm persons below the aNeta
4 no IN intelligence "A thicker corteN hAS DC
,r@b FOUND than In Webster's brain
anal THE writer I'm The Popular Scier
,,or- Monthly" Is thus led 10 remark: no
.roto If The suppostiOns about certain qua
Tho ties Of mind inhering In particular p
ions Of the brain have been proved
have they stood the tests o. science
tle German Red Tape.
80 4 good red-tape story comes rom %
- In WITT, IN Upper silesla. a youngstsr y =
.s.a.s Ora