SMELL. 207 



admiring an artificial rose, "It is all the more beautiful that 

 it has no smell." 



We are warned by the proverb not to discuss colours or 

 tastes, and we may add odours also. Men and nations 

 differ singularly in this respect. The Laplander and the 

 Esquimaux find the smell of fish-oil delicious. Wrangel says 

 his compatriots, the Russians, are very fond of the odour of 

 pickled cabbage, which forms an important part of their food; 

 and assafcetida is. it is said, used as a condiment in Persia, 

 and, in spite of its name, there are persons who do not find 

 its odour disagreeable any more than that of valerian. 



Smell. The air which enters the organ of smell deposits 

 on the surface of the pituitary membrane the odoriferous 

 principles with which it is charged, it becomes impregnated 

 with them, arid it is in its tissues that these principles come 

 in contact with the terminal fibres of the olfactory nerve. 

 We have already stated that this nerve is only distributed 

 over the upper portion of the nasal fossae; in order to produce 

 the sensation of odours, therefore, the air inspired must reach 

 not only the inferior but also the superior parts of these 

 cavities. The nose is contracted at the root like a funnel, 

 and tends to guide the odoriferous effluvia towards the point 

 where the impression is to be perceived; and the stronger 

 the inspiration the higher up the column of air is carried, and 

 the more it excites the filaments of the special nerve. Some 

 physiologists have thought, with Magendie, that the nerves of 

 the fifth pair, which ramify over the lower portion of the 

 pituitary membrane, were designed to serve the purpose of 

 smell; it seems to be clearly demonstrated that the sensa- 

 tions caused by acid or ammoniacal vapours are not olfactory, 

 but simply painful. 



The pituitary membrane in its normal condition is con- 

 stantly humid, and the secretion with which it is bathed is 

 one of the indispensable conditions of the function of smell; 

 and, therefore, we remark at the commencement of a cold in 

 the head, when this membrane becomes dry, that the sense 

 of smell is more or less impaired. The nose, by shielding 

 the membrane from the immediate contact of the air, pre- 

 serves its functions, and the loss of this organ diminishes, 



