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Show 1899.] ON THE BRAIN OF THE GORILLA. 65 four kilometres for the convenience of driving the game. There are nearly four hundred lineal kilometres of these rides. " Mr. Neverli estimates the herd of Bisons at the present time at about seven hundred, and he puts the Elk, which frequent the wettest parts, at the same number. The wild Boars, judging by their frequent roofings, must be very numerous. Red deer were not formerly found in the forest, but have been introduced. I could not find out that there was any satisfactory basis for Mr. Neverli's calculation of the numbers of the herd of Bisons. Judging by the number of tracks which I saw, I am inclined to be sceptical of it. Every naturalist will be anxious to know whether the herd is diminishing or not. Mr. Neverli is of opinion that the herd was formerly more numerous, but such estimates may be based on some calculation even less authoritative than those of the present time.1 _ The privilege of hunting in this forest was confined for centuries to the Kings of Poland exclusively." The following papers were read :- 1. A Contribution to our Knowledge of the Cerebral Convolutions of the Gorilla. By F R A N K E. B E D D A R D, M.A., F.R.S. [Received February 7, 1899.] From a valuable summary of the literature relating to the Gorilla, contributed to ' Natural Science' by Dr. Keith, it appears that no more than twelve brains of this Anthropoid Ape have been submitted to examination. Of these at least that of which some account has been given in the ' Transactions' of this Society by Sir R. O w e n was in so poor a state of preservation that not much of value can be deduced from the data. The most elaborate descriptions of the cerebral convolutions of this anthropoid are those of v. Bischoff, Broca, and Chapman, all based, however, on single examples. The specimen studied by v. Bischoff had been previously described and figured (but not explained) by Pansch, a reproduction of which figures, with some comment thereon by Prof. Thane, appeared in vol. xv. of ' Nature.' Other references to Gorilla brains that have been studied will be found in the list of literature with which I conclude the present communication. Some doubt was thrown by v. Bischoff upon the genuineness (as a Gorilla's brain) of the specimen described by Broca; Chapman, however, held that it was certainly a Gorilla's brain, and I associate myself with him in this expression of opinion. All (?) the Gorillas' brains existing in Germany at the time-most, if not all, of which had been previously studied by himself and by Pansch-were brought together and subjected to a 1 Herr E. Biichner (Mem. Acad. Imp. Sci. St. Petersb. (8) iii. no. 2) states that the herd in 1856 numbered nearly 1900, and expresses his opinion that the diminution is caused by " breeding-in." PROC. ZOOL. Soc-1899, No. V. 5 |