Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-11-04
PEOPLE WITH BIG BRAINS.
Some of the Largest Heads on Record
BELONGED to LunatIcs.

Some of the Largest Heads on Record
Belonged to LunatIcs.
Is there any truth in the commonly
accepted idea that !" big brain is me-
essarily associated with big mind:
The human brain consists of five
major divisions, which, though inti-
mately connected, are severely distinct
as to function. Named from below up
ward these parts are the medulla, pons.
midbrain, cerebellum and cerebrum.
All parts of the brain are permeated
by nerve fibers, and are therefore con-
cerned in the transmission of nerve
impulses: but at least three parts are
primarily occupied with other busi-
ness. The medulla, which is the stalk
like connection between the brain and
the spinal cord, contains nuclei OF
nerve cells, which propel the heart,
lungs, blood vessels and so on. The
pons is a broad band Of fibers, which
serves to connect the right and left
sides of the base of the brain. The
midbrain is the forked upward eXten-
sion of the medulla, a prong passing
into each of the great hemispheres OF
the cerebrum, and. like the pons, the
mdbrain Is chiefly a conducting por-
tion of the brain. The cerebellum, or
"little BRAIN" lies under the back part
of the cerebrum and on top of the
pons. It is the regulator Of voluntary
muscular motion. An animal deprived
OF its cerebellum can move, feel and
think. but cannot control its move
ments. Finally, we come to the cere-
brum, the largest division Of the brain,
which overhangs the other four diVis-
ions In the form of two big convoluted
hemispheres divided by deep longi-
tudinal fissure. In these hemispheres
reside the physical mechanism of con-
sciousness-reason, feeling, will. Here,
let us observe, that Of the five parts OF
the brain, only one, the cerebrum, has
to do with the intellect. In fishes the
cerebrum is the smallest part of the
brain. Accordingly, though the whale
has a larger brain than man, most or
the brethren of Jonah are possessed
of higher intelligence than is exhibited
by the largest Of fishes. The whale
has more brains, but man has more
cerebrum.
A cross section of the cerebrum
shows that this part of the brain Is
made up of a large core of white nerve
fibers and a comparatively thin rind
of nerve cells or gray matter. In ami
mails of low intelligence, rodents, for
example, the coating of gray matter is
comparatively smooth over the surface
of the cerebrum. But in higher AMI
mails the gray matter Is seen to dip
down into grooves and fissures now
and then. an arrangement which re-
quires more gray matter to cover
brain of given size than is required to
cover the smooth brain of a rat In
man the Unfolding of gray matter is
carried to high degree of compleXity.
But in idiots the brain is smoother and
less convoluted than in intelligent men,
Consequently an imbecile might have
a larger cerebrum than a bright man,
hut less gray matter. The brains of
children are less convoluted than those
of their elders.
Another feature Of the case is that
the amount of cerebration Is largely
dependent upon the amount of blood
circulating in the cerebrum. An indi-
vidual possessed of a large and well
convoluted cerebrum might be so
handicapped by a feeble heart and
poor nutrition as not to measure up to
the average mental standard.
The average white mans brain
weighs from 40 to so ounces. More del
icate of frame and faculty, the mem
bers of the fair sex come next with an
average brain weight of 43 to 40
ounces. The smallest human brains
are found in Central Africans. And
the average civilized infantile brain, at
birth, weighs from 10 to II ounces,
| brain mass much greater in propor-
ton to the body than obtains in the
adult.
Some of the largest brains on record
| belonged to lunatics. Several of these
weighed upward of 60 ounces, and one
| weighed 643.
If, however, a large brain does not
| necessarily mean large intelligence,
| it certainly does not necessarily indl-
cate a small intelligence. An eXces-
sively small cerebrum nearly always is
associated with idiocy, and contrariwise,
some of the greatest intellects have
resided in excessively large brains.
Cuvier, who did so much for compara-
tive anatomy and philosophy, had
| brain which weighed Ga 1-3 ounces;
| the brain of Daniel Webster weighed
So ounces, as did that of Abercrombie,
the great Scotch authority on the brain
and nervous system, and both Byron
and Cromwell had abnormally heavy
brains. showing marked evidence of
| disease"
And, finally, the colonel appears t"
have a rather large head himself.-New
| Orleans Times Democrat.
Soldiers on Skates.
In the Norwegian army there is
/