The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1914-01-01
Horses Are Nearest Man in Mind
Power.
Writer Finds Comparisons OF Mental
Capacity Reassuring-The Higher
the "lndex" the More the
Animal Knows.

1t has long been known, of course
that there is certain rough relation
ship between the size Of the brain
and intelligence, and, still further, be
tween brain surface and intelligence;
but both of these facts are compli
Gated in variety of ways, writes Carl
Synder in Golfers Weekly. AS, for
example, there Is q rough relationship
between the size and weight of the
brain and the weight of the body, Sc
that, FOR example, the largest animal
that lives or ever has lived, the
whale, has also the largest and heav'
lest brain.
There is much closer relation be-
tween what is called the cerebral in
dex and intelligence, this index" is
simply the weight of the brain divided
by the weight of the body. Roughly
the higher the index the more an ami
nal knows and is able to do. In the
same way it has long been known that
a deeply furrowed or "convoluted'
brain, as the anatomists say, has a
much higher capacity than a smooth
brain. The brain of an idiot. com
pared with that of a Webster or a
Newton, is quite smooth and little
furrowed From this It is possible TO
Judge an animals capabilities by mere
inspection Of the corteX or brain rind.
And this index Is Of much greater
value than was formerly supposed.
Thus 1t was early found that the
brains of horses were fairly heavy
and also very considerably furrowed.
For example, the brain weight of the
larger horses, around 600 grams, Is
very considerably greater than that Of
the chimpanZee, the ourang, or even
the large gorillas. But, on the other
hand. 1t was supposed that the higher
apes stood intellectually higher than
horses. There is some reason to be-
lieve that this is a mistake. The FL
berfeld horses, for example. which
apparently do cube root and such
things without aid, show grade Of
intelligence in some ways higher than
any apes have yet disclosed.
AS a step closer to en- index of in
telligence, attempts have been made
TO estimate the volume OF the brain
not merely It's surface, but it's thick
ness as we'll This is far more accur-
ate than any measurement of mere
surface or weight, and comparisons
made on this basis seem to tally very
well with what we actually know OF
the animals concerned.
Thus, for example, it has been
found that this cortex volume in the
ourang is about five times greater
than that of the little cebus monkey;
and. in turn, the volume of the human
cortex is, roughly speaking. about Eve
times as great as that of the Ourang
But more attentive study, namely.
that with the microscope, has revealed
another and even more striking and
curios difference-that is. cell density.
Every one knows, OF course. that
the brain and the nervous system, like
the body itself, are made up of mi
croscopic units, which were very early
and very badly named sells" Now
it is apparently the richness in cells
which most determines the grade Of
brain. Thus, for example, in a cubic
millimeter of cortical substance
brain stuff-in the lower mammals,
like the kangaroo and anteaters, there
are only from 5000 to 10000 cells;
and this is true even of the brains of
ruminants, like our cattle, and even
the elephant and the whale. At a
stage higher stand the carnivores, and
beasts of prey, the lions,
tigers and again the seals. Here the
density of a cubic milimeter ranges
from $4,000 to $4,000 cells. Still high
er stand the rodents, squirrels, and
the like, and the apes, whose cell
density may be as high as $4,000 to
$4,000 cubic millimeter.
Higher than any, it is little reas-
surfing In these disturbing and disil-
Irsioning days to know, stands man.
Here the cell density, as well as sur
face and thickness of the cortex. is so
great that, whereas the ourang has
only about one thousand million cells
in it's brain, human beings average ten
times this, and, of course, in excep-
tional individuals the number is still
higher.
The number seems quite fabulous.
No human being ever saw in a single
mass 100000 people. But there are
at least 1.60O,o0O,oOO on earth. Yet
the hsman brain has from five to ten
times as many individual cells as
there are people on earth.