prolonged cutaneous stimuli; in particular, the child moved its arms
after a slap on the back, just like normal new-born children, and
uttered very harsh, feeble tones when its back was rubbed. When I put my
finger in its mouth vigorous sucking movements began, which induced me
to offer the bottle--this had not yet been done. Some cubic centimetres
of milk were vigorously swallowed, and soon afterward the breast of a
nurse was taken. While this was going on I could feel quite distinctly
with my finger, under the chin, the movements of swallowing. It was easy
to establish the further fact that my finger, which I laid in the hollow
of the child's hand, was frequently clasped firmly by the little
fingers, which had well-developed nails. Not unfrequently, sometimes
without previous contact, sometimes after it, the tip of the tongue, and
even a larger part of the tongue, was thrust out between the lips, and
once, when I held the child erect, he plainly gave a prolonged yawn.
Finally, the fact seemed to me very noteworthy that, after being taken
and held erect, sometimes also without any assignable outward occasion,
the child inclined its head forward and turned it vigorously both to the
right and to the left. When the child had sucked lustily a few times, it
opened both eyes about two millimetres wide, and went on with its
nursing. An assistant physician saw the child sneeze.

These observations upon a human child, two days old, unquestionably
acephalous, i. e., absolutely without cerebrum, but as to the rest of
its body not in the least abnormal, prove what I have already advanced
(vol. i, p. 203), that the cerebrum takes no part at all in the first
movements of the newly-born. In this respect the extremely rare case of
an acephalous child, living for some days, supplies the place of an
experiment of vivisection. Unfortunately, the child died so early that I
could not carry on further observations and experiments. The report of
the _post-mortem_ examination will be published by itself.

Every observer of young children knows the great variety in the rapidity
of their development, and will agree with me in general that a slow and
steady development of the cerebral functions in the first four years,
but especially in the first two years, justifies a more favorable
prognosis than does a very hasty and unsteady development; but when
during that period of time there occurs a complete and prolonged
interruption of the mental deve