FRANKINCENSE AND MYRRH 



lar odours lie beyond the range of our sense of smell, 

 just as many rays of light lie beyond our range of 

 vision. It may be recalled that the poison of toads 

 inflames the lining of our nostrils if we sniff it, yet 

 there is no smell. It is certain that the world is 

 full of scents, as of sounds, to which, happily or 

 unhappily, our senses are not attuned. There is 

 proof of a very keen sense of smell in many insects, 

 such as hive-bees, and its value to flower-visitors 

 is great. 



Smelling stuffs are formed in many insects be- 

 sides moths and butterflies, as every one knows in 

 the case of cockroaches and bugs, and it is possible 

 that they have to do with waste-products, just as 

 the white and yellow colour of some butterflies is 

 a literal beauty for ashes. The odours are of use 

 in helping creatures of the same kind to recognize 

 one another quickly. In certain cases they may be 

 protective : thus shrews are in some measure 

 saved from cats by a smell-making gland which 

 runs along the side of their body. In the homing 

 of many ants minute particles with an odour serve 

 as guide-posts, and the accuracy with which a dog 

 tracks his master's footsteps is one of the marvels 

 of everyday life. 



The sense of smell is nearest that of taste, and the 

 two are almost the same in some of the fishes. 

 In smelling we are affected by minute particles 

 which are dissolved on the moist surface of the lining 

 of our nostrils ; in tasting we are affected by 

 substances similarly dissolved on our tongue. In 

 old days the sense of smell meant more to man than 



85 



