SCENT MYSTERIES.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 29 November 1924, Page 15

SCENT MYSTERIES.

SCIENTISTS PUZZLED. The sense of smell, being of less value to civilised man than his other four senses, has grown weak, and in many individuals is almost lost. Living indoors and overmuch smoking of tobacco are the two destroyers of the sense of smell, but let any of you go camping, for a. week, sleeping in a tent., or (better still) under the stars, and you rapidly become aware of all sorts of odours previously forgotten, or, perhaps, never before experienced, writes Mr T. C. Bridges in the Empire Review.

\\hat is scent? Here is a question which has been discussed for generations and over which modern scientists still puzzle their? heads. If it is a distinct emanation of particles of matter, how is ■ it. that a fraction of a grain of hiusk will for years continue to f. 11 a foom with its odour, and at the end of that time be found not to have diminished in weight? It would appear that scents pass into the air in the form of vapour, and not in solid particles. It is definitely kno.\Yn that the air in severs is remarkably free from solid particles of matter. The emanation which affects the nostrils in such places is in the form cf gas. The question of scent is, of course, of 1 the keenest moment to all hunting folk. It is still impossible to oredict whether scent will or will hot' “lie” on ahy particular day. All that anyone chii say is that on & mild, springlike day, when the air is moist and not moking too rapidiy, scent is likely to be better than on a cold, dry, or oit a very wet day. Yet quite frequently what seems a perfect hunting day is ruined by lack of scent, while, on the other hand, scent may lie well on a quiet, frosty day, in a gale of • wind and rain, and even when snow is oh the ground. Even townsmen are aware of how mii'ch stronger all scents Become, 111 the cool of the especially after a warm day,- or after a shower of u aim rain. At such a time the whole air is fill! of scents of different kinds. There is the distinctive odour-of moist earth, there are many from different leaves or flowers, and, less pleasant, there may be a penetrating and dreadful smell from seme rotting toadstool. Few four-legged animals have as highly developed a sense of sight as nian or birds. Many recognise their young; not by sight, but by scent. Sir Herbert Maxwell quotes an interesting example of the way in which animals depend upon their sense of smell. A Cheviot lamb, had fallen into the water, and, as the bank was high and steep, would have been drowned had not a passing angler rescued the poor shivering littl© creature. It staggered away, bleating-piteously, to its dam? but the qld lady,, sniffing disdainfully, pushed it away, utterly refusing to recognise it. The shepherd 1 arrived > the angler told him what had happened, and pointed out the mother sheep's unnatural behaviour. “The aulcl ewe cannot smell it,” said the shepherd. “She’ll take it back as soon as it’s dry.” And so it was. As soon as sun and wind combined had dried the lamb’s dripping fleece the natural'odour returned, and mother and'child were reconciled at once.

Birds of prey have amazing eyesight, but it seems distinctly doubtful whether they. or indeed any other birds, have any but the most elementary sense of smell. Though birds have nostrils the olfactory bulbs are invariably small, ahd no medulalted nerve fibres, connect them with the rest of the. brain. •

Some creatures use a special supply of - scent for purposes of protection 01defence. Of these, the. skunk is the best known example. This creature can eject evil-smelling fluid, from the gland that 'contains it, to a distance of 20 feet or more, and no words can express the appalling character of the odour.'

One of the mysteries of scent is that certain animals have such an extraordinary love for certain odours. A familiar example is the, peculiar delight that a cat takes in valerian, hut there ate many other similar cases. Rats love oil of rhodium or aniseed, and lions seem to have a particular liking for oil of lavender. Stoats and weasels are attracted by mnsk, which keepers use for anointing their traps. Even fish seem to oossess a sense- of smell, for highly salted baits are used by fish poachers, and are even advertised for the benefit of anglers.