The Nose.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13691, 5 September 1908, Page 1 (Supplement)

The Nose.

THE SENSE OP SMELL. Would you rather be eyeless than newless? Supptse, in other words, that fate gave you the choico between losing your sens* of sight and your cease.'of smell, , which would you decide to abandon? "* Nine people out of every tea would ■ reply that they would infinitely prefer to lose their power of detecting - odours than be blind. The choice would\ be a I lets wise one than it sounds. . People are accustomed-to take the sense of smell for granted, that* they, hafrdly notice its usefulness. Nevertheless, they use it, as a matter of fact, every instant of their waking lives, and even while "asleep—when the eyes, being closed, wre j useless. Introduce a bright light into the bedroom of a sound sleeper, and be will not stir; but the "burub tin" smell of a burglar's dark lantern will "interrupt'hie dreams and wake him, when* not a ray from the said lantern is visible. '• * Since the habit of smoking became eo universal, men hate dulled, to some extent, their uasal sensitiveness; but to this day many scientists will tell you that the nose is a. more vital organ-than .the'eye*. They prove this amazing theory by demonstrating how a, blind man can often distinguish tbo pensons in, a room solely by the scu.se of smell can tell the direction of the wind—and, through it, his geographical position in an unknown country—by the sense of smell, feats which no man who possessed Ins eyesight alone could perform. V Mr. H. G. Wells recently advanced tf»* ajrjooi, in one of bis stories, that, > if a man with perfect,, eytsight were put i&. the midst of a nation all of whom were blind, tho former would be at an enonn-. ous disadvantage; in fact, ho would be? come the blind man's slave. CHEMISTS MUST HAVE NOSF4S. , Hr. KcPherson, writing oa what hi called "The Miracle of 'Smell," state* that a trained chemist can often VeJy, more oa his nose for information j» W' the analysis of' it cubstence than en any of the most, delicate chemical tests, whoa* results are, of course, only visible to the eye. *- ----•* * Oil of dorrs can' ha smelt, by a afrijled druggist, when diluted on 88.000 parts of water; and the odd effluvinnt of pru«sic acid can be deteced when in two-tail*' lion parts of water. No chemical analysis could detect this; because tbe results of the chemical anaiy* sis would be too faint to be seen by the <«ye. In other words, given that a dctec-tive-cliemist had to discover whether a certain substance contained prosaic acid—onw of the favourite poisons used by murderers —he would do it more readily if h«""wer« blind than if ho were noseless. Thus, even ihe now? of cirliised tnatTssoftcn more valuable to him than bis eyes; and how much more does this apply to> the savage, who hns not damaged nis olfactory nerve* by smoking? The ostiveaof Peru aa many travellers have recorded, can tell in the darkest night whether A stranger who is approaching them m ft European, or a negro, or aa American Indian. ' ;

A moments reflection shows that this means that; every individual (without regard, by the way, to hi* personal cleanliness!) is feurrou»ded by «, *ort of cloud, of nu'raeulously minute ticent-particle*, genuine particlea of actual matter, capable of entering tho nostrils and titillating th* olfactory nerv<«. The nose,"see* particle*; to the eyo they, are ptver Tunbl* «vf» undt't the most powerful microscope. KEEN UN THE.SCENT. The extraordinary amaJliurtt of>"£m«» partid** will be understood whwt we consider the fact, that » tenth of a grain of niofck will for years on end sc*nt a, room in Which it w k«'pt in contact with the iiir, and. wlu-n suihscquviitly weighed, will be- found not to have diminished in sue. In the animal world '• *. of conrse, plain that tb*' IW of the nu»B mwtn death, when the loss of th« cyt-* would mean inconvenience. Plenty of 'tld dogs are- blind, yet rati go out for w*lka with their master*, and even hunt for game. A dog hardly wr uses bis *yt«r i a!om» to distinguish between hi* ntsfttor. And a, stranger, Tlx> Ute Dr. Humane* mad*,, «om« aina/Jng experiment** to prove ibo power of HHitH in common doc*. Orw of hi» own t«irri<*f« tracked him through lbs Hitnk Holiday crowd in a park, solely by distiiißui-'hiiii! l*Hween Urn tugtnl of hi* "boots and that of tb« bundled* of other paii*. of bout* whteh had touched the ground aim*- he panned. When be gln«>«i brown paper •« b» boot* th* dog would not folW him; but, at !MK.m' us the tinnwfti hole was xsprn in. the paper. »t picked np hi* trail »t on«. Dr. Roman*-* even found thafc his dog could track Idm over the, ground previously " «»nfu*:d" by inulttt«idnion<* tracks* cruuting U> and fro. of anir#<-d scent.