NOSEAN 



for smelling. The rest of the nose 

 is supplied by nerves of common 

 sensibility and is used for breath- 

 ing. It is therefore termed the 

 respiratory region of the nose. 



The sense of smell varies much in 

 different individuals, and in differ- 

 ent animals. It is highly developed 

 in herbivora and carnivora, the 

 dog, for example, depending on 

 the sense of smell almost as much 

 as on the sense of sight. Taste and 

 smell are intimately connected. 

 Digestion is greatly assisted by the 

 agreeable stimul ation of both senses. 



To avoid irritation of the throat 

 and lungs all the air should be 

 drawn through the nose in order 

 that it may be warmed and 

 moistened and rendered harm- 

 less to these important organs. 

 See Adenoids ; Anatomy ; Head ; 

 Man ; Smell. 



Nosean OR NOSELITE. In min- 

 eralogy, the name of a mineral con- 

 sisting of the sulphates and sili- 

 cates of sodium and aluminium. 

 Named after K. W. Nose, a Ger- 

 man chemist, it is grey, blue, or 

 brown in colour, and is found in 

 igneous rocks in Germany, etc. 



Nose Dive. In aeronautics, the 

 act of diving at a steep angle, 

 approaching the vertical, nose 

 first. It is a method of obtaining 

 for a short while a greatly increased 

 speed. An accidental nose dive is 

 usually the effect of losing flying 

 speed and hence support. The 

 machine then puts its nose down 

 and keeps it there until it regains 

 flying speed. If this occurs close 

 to the earth the machine may 

 crash before it reaches a speed 

 sufficient for it to be controlled. 

 Pulling quickly out of a nose dive 

 is one of the most dangerous 

 manoeuvres in flying. 



Nose-ornament. Object worn 

 in or on the nose, usually by 

 passing it or a subsidiary ring or 

 hook through a perforation. 

 Made of bone, shell, feather, quill, 

 tooth, wood, pearl, or metal, some- 

 times engraved or jewelled, its pur- 

 pose was originally amuletic. 



Nose-pins, especially character- 

 istic of Melanesia and Australia, 

 are usually passed through the 

 septum, the rite of piercing being 

 sometimes completed by drawing 

 a live snake through the perfora 



5786 



tion. Corpses with unpierced 

 noses have the rite performed 

 upon them, to avoid discomfort 

 to the ghost in the afterworld. 



Metal nose-rings, which may 

 have antedated earrings in W. 

 Asia, were adopted by the Hebrew 

 people. Many O.T. references to 

 rings concern nose-ornaments, as 

 in Gen. 24. They were removed on 

 the Sabbath. The khizam, worn by 

 women in Cairo and among some 

 Beduin tribes, is usually of brass, 

 with red or blue glass beads. The 

 practice drifted across Africa to 

 Nyasaland and the Gambia ; the 

 Yorubaland Egba insert coral 

 plugs in the left nostril. Nose- 

 rings became especially developed 

 in India, among both Hindu and 

 Mahomedan women. Tattooing 

 of the nose also occurs. 



Nosology (Gr. nosos, disease ; 

 logos, science). Science which 

 deals with the classification and 

 nomenclature of diseases. No 

 general system has been agreed 

 upon by doctors for the classi- 

 fication and nomenclature of 

 diseases, though many books have 

 been published upon the subject. 

 Consult Nomenclature of Diseases 

 of the Royal College of Physicians, 

 4th ed. 1906, a compilation due to 

 Dr. William Farr in 1837. This 

 classification has been adopted 

 with amendments by various 

 countries. See Medicine. 



Nossi-b6 OR NOSSY-BE. Island 

 off the W. coast of Madagascar. 

 Belonging to France, it is situated 

 at the entrance to the Bay of Pas- 

 sandava. It is mountainous and 

 volcanic. Its chief town, Hell- 

 ville, named after Governor Hell, 

 who took possession of .the island 

 in 1841, has an excellent harbour. 

 The neighbouring islands are Nossi- 

 Mitsiou, Nossi-Comba, Nossi-Sak- 

 atra, and Nossi-Faly. Area of 

 Nossi-Be, 115 sq. m. Pop. 28,700. 



Nostalgia (Gr. nostos, return ; 

 algos, grief). Home sickness or 

 longing to return to one's home or 

 native country. It is a morbid 

 mental condition, partially induced 

 by imperfect adaptation to a new 

 environment, and may develop into 

 melancholia (q.v.). 



Nostoc. Mucilaginous plants of 

 the natural order Nostocaceae, of 

 the division Protophyta. or simplest 



Nose-ornament. Examples worn by different races oi mankind. Lett to right: 



Sudanese negress ; Tamil girl ; Papuan wearing tusks of a wild boar ; native 



of Solomon Islands 



plants. They are exceedingly fine 

 filaments, consisting of a large 

 number of minute cells attached in 

 a single series, which under the 

 microscope presents the appear- 

 ance of a necklace of pearls or 

 beads. One or more of these fila- 

 ments, coiled or twisted, are en- 

 closed in hyaline jelly, and these 

 masses, varying from 0'2 mm. to an 

 inch in diam., float on bog-pools, 

 appear on gravel paths, damp soil, 

 or on rotting timber. They are often 

 tinted green, violet, or blue. Some- 

 times they inhabit the cells of 

 higher plants. N. edule. is utilised 

 by the Chinese as a soup ingredient. 

 N. commune, the common species, 

 is in some districts known as 

 falling stars. 



Nosu. Aboriginal people in S.W. 

 China. Occupying the mountain 

 region where Yunnan, Szechwan, 

 and Kweichow meet, they represent 

 a stock of Tibetan origin and primi- 

 tive culture, who spread E. into 

 the plains, driving before them the 

 earlier Yao. They resisted the 

 Manchu domination until early in 

 the 18th century, when they were 

 thrust back into the uplands above 

 the 6,000 ft. level. They maintain 

 feudal institutions and animistic 

 practices, and accord much social 

 freedom to women. See China ; 

 Lolo ; consult also In Unknown 

 China, S. Pollard, 1921. 



Notables. Prominent person- 

 ages formerly convoked in extra- 

 ordinary council by kings of France. 

 Dating from the 14th century, tin- 

 council was called in times of 

 national emergency, but had no 

 powers, being purely consultative. 

 The two most famous occasions of 

 its being called were in 1787, 

 when Louis XVI appealed to the 

 Notables for advice on the increas- 

 ing difficulties of the monarchy, 

 and was advised to convoke the 

 States-General ; and in 1788, when 

 they were summoned to give advice 

 on the representation of the Third 

 Estate, and by their reactionary 

 attitude deepened the public dis- 

 content and hastened the Revolu- 

 tion. See French Revolution : 

 States-General. 



Notary (Lat. nota, note). In 

 England, originally an officer in 

 the ecclesiastical courts. ' Notaries 

 are still admitted by the arch- 

 bishop of Canterbury through his 

 representatives, but their duties 

 are mainly secular. They serve an 

 apprenticeship and pass an exam- 

 ination, and. in London, must 

 belong to tho Scriveners' Company. 

 A notary attests or certifies docu- 

 ments, mainly in connexion with a 

 failure to meet bills of exchange. 

 There is a society of public 

 notaries. In England a notary is 

 usually a solicitor ; in Scotland 



