The Monmouth inquirer., 1924-12-04
GAVE BRAINS TO SCIENCE.
More Similar Requests Wantc'S'~-
A Strong Demand.


A Strong Demand.
II NAV not be generally known
that over the civilized world there U
a strong demand for brains that ara
a little above the average IL quailtyi
not intelligence, intellect, or genius,
but literally that part OF the human
organism which is contained within
the skull and is known as the praln.
Scientists who devote themselves
to the study of comparative anatomy
have for the most part nothing bet
ter to dissect than the brains OF pau
pers and lunatics. These, however,
leave much TO be desired. and IL is 10
the interest of the human family
that the brains of cultured and
learned people should be placed az
the disposal of those patient and "a
borious men who are engaged IN the
vastly important work of unrayelInS
the secrets of the working OF the
mind.
But 1t must not be supposed that
a certain number of such brains are
not forthcoming. Comparatively
speaking. they are few, but still
more numerous than most people
imagine. In the great majority OF
cases they are bequeathed by their
respective owners. On one occasion
Sir William Fowler, the famous au-
thority on comparative anatomy, In
addressing an audience of cultured
men and women. spoke of the diff
culties he and his fellow workers had
to contend with in having little else
than brains of people of low intellect
to dissect, and went SO far as to aE-
peal to the audience to help science
Z In this matter In che only possible
wssy.
On the conclusion of hfs address
several members of the audience, in
Guiding few ladies, promised to be-
4 queath their brains to him, and, 1t Is
( said, proved as good as tha5r word.
More than one man of great emil
hence has regarded 1t as something
In the nature of duty to do this in
the interest of science. Prof. Gold
/ win Smith, for instance, some time
ago formally willed his brains to
Cornell University.
Some remarkable brains have beer
sold, not given. An Englishman who
calls himself Datas has disposed Of
I hts to an American university for
I $4,000. He is a man of little edu-
cation, and for many years worked
as a coal miner. But he has mar
! veIlous memory, especially for datess
and is now earning a handsome In
come on the music hall stage. Any
member of the audience may ask him
I the date of some occurrence, and IL
answered instantly. 1t is considered
that his brain must show some very
unusual development, and there was
not little bidding to secure it after
death.
It stands to reason that the brain
of man Of intellect offers much
richer field for observation than the
brain Of pauper or some other hui
man derelict. The brains Of great
men vary very much, more, in fact,
than do those of nonentities. 1t is
found that men of encyclopaedia
mind have large and heavy brains
Gladstone had to wear very big
hat--with an enormous bed of gray
matter and numerous convolutions;
on the other hand, men whose genius
is concentrated upon one hne OF
thought are Of small brain, and con-
sequently have a small head
Newton, Byron, and Cromwell be-
longed to this class, and each had a
small head. Yet many people imag-
inc that this is sign of small men,
tai capacity. A visitor who was
shown the skull Of Cromwell was SO
disappointed at its size that the care
taker of the relic endeayored to con-
sole him by saying that this was the
skull of the great Roundhead when
he was a boy Prof Symes-Thomp-
son told this anecdote in a recent leo
ture, and he also mentioned that
Newton was so small when born that
he could put inside a quart pot.