90 The Unity of the Organism 



The well known fact that some at least of the races of 

 mankind emit distinctive odors may be first alluded to. 



"The Lord He loves the nigger well, 

 He knows His nigger by the smell," 



is the way the negroes of the West Indies are said to express 

 their claim to distinction through this character. Anthro- 

 pologists generally recognize that races are differentiated to 

 some extent in this way. Thus Deniker, 9 while not certain 

 that the claims made by such travelers as Erman and Hue, 

 can be fully allowed that populations may be recognized by 

 their odors, still affirms the constancy of difference between 

 some races in this regard. He accepts the statement that 

 peculiarities in the smell of negroes and Chinese cannot be 

 fully obliterated even "with most scrupulous cleanliness." 

 Nor has this author neglected to note the importance of 

 distinguishing between odors that are "sui generis" as he 

 says, and those due to odoriferous foods or other substances 

 with which certain peoples are habitually associated. 



Ludwig Hopf asserts, largely on the authority of Jager, 

 that "some people have the power of differentiating rela- 

 tively insignificant odours of individuals as well as family 

 odours, and even the peculiar scent attaching to the inhabi- 

 tants of the same village (spezifische dorferriiche)." 10 



The Naturalist's Approach to Biochemical Problems 



We now pass to the examination of the chemical nature 

 of organisms as this has been determined by chemical re- 

 searches proper. The first remark to be made under this 

 head must be on the exceedingly detached and haphazard 

 character of the knowledge in this realm when it is looked 

 upon from the standpoint of the zoologist and the botanist. 

 I hasten to explain my meaning of "detached and haphaz- 

 ard" and of being "looked upon from the standpoint of the 



