TASTE. 393 



merits of prehension. But as the structure and 

 functions of this organ are the exclusive subjects 

 of another of these treatises, I shall refrain from 

 any farther remarks respecting it. 



Chapter 111. 



TASTE. 



The senses of Taste and Smell are intended to 

 convey impressions resulting from the chemical 

 qualities of bodies, the one in the fluid, the other 

 in the gaseous state.* There is a considerable 

 analogy between the sensations derived from 

 these two senses. The organ of taste is the 

 surface of the tongue, the skin of which is fur- 

 nished with a large proportion of blood-vessels 

 and nerves. The vascular plexus immediately 

 covering the corium is here very visible, and 

 forms a distinct layer, through which a great 

 number of papillae pass, and project from the 

 surface, covered with a thin cuticle, like the pile 



* Bellini contended that the different flavors of saline bodies 

 are owing to the peculiar figures of their crystalline particles. 

 It is strange that Dumas should have thought it worth while 

 seriously to combat this extravagant hypothesis, by a laboured 

 refutation. 



