the valuable tables published by Professor R. Wagner in
his "Vorstudien zu einer wissenschaftlichen Morphologie und
Physiologie des menschlichen Gehirns." As the result of the
careful weighing of more than 900 human brains, Professor
Wagner states that one-half weighed between 1200 and 1400
grammes, and that about two-ninths, consisting for the most
part of male brains, exceed 1400 grammes. The lightest
brain of an adult male, with sound mental faculties,
recorded by Wagner, weighed 1020 grammes. As a gramme
equals 15.4 grains, and a cubic inch of water contains 252.4
grains, this is equivalent to 62 cubic inches of water; so
that as brain is heavier than water, we are perfectly safe
against erring on the side of diminution in taking this as
the smallest capacity of any adult male human brain. The
only adult male brain, weighing as little as 970 grammes,
is that of an idiot; but the brain of an adult woman,
against the soundness of whose faculties nothing appears,
weighed as little as 907 grammes (55.3 cubic inches of
water); and Reid gives an adult female brain of still
smaller capacity. The heaviest brain (1872 grammes, or
about 115 cubic inches) was, however, that of a woman; next
to it comes the brain of Cuvier (1861 grammes), then Byron
(1807 grammes), and then an insane person (1783 grammes).
The lightest adult brain recorded (720 grammes) was that of
an idiotic female. The brains of five children, four years
old, weighed between 1275 and 992 grammes. So that it may
be safely said, that an average European child of four
years old has a brain twice as large as that of an adult
Gorilla.