364 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



MAY 33, 1838. 



([for the N. E. Parmer. j 



ON THE PROPERTIES AND AFFECTIONS OF 

 THE ORGANS OF TASTE. 



The investiL'ation of the [uoperties of the nrfraii 

 of taste is attended with [leciiliar difficuhy, he- 

 raiise this sense is more variahle than any ntlier 

 amongst mankind, and is not permanent in the 

 same individual, [ts nature has never hnen ex- 

 plained beyond tlie simple statement of the fact, 

 tliat it is an impression made chiefly on the nerves 

 of the ton^'iie and the unicons membrane of tlic 

 palate. Nevertheless, the following observations, 

 which are common to most persons, may be found 

 to posse.^s some interest, and may perhaps lead to 

 the discovery of others equally ciirions and use- 

 ful. 



The sensation of taste may be produced by the 

 ■contact of certain solids, liquids, and elastic fluids. 

 Nitrons oxide gas or exhilarating gas as it is 

 sotuetirnes called, received into the mouth tastes 

 sweet; carbonic acid acerb; hydrogen hasa taste 

 that cannot he de.scribed ; it is perceived in acid 

 fruits which have been that instant cut with an 

 iron knife; amnioniacal gas has an insupportahly 

 pungent taste ; and chlorine is astringent. The 

 taste of solids and liquids hardly lieed he alhuled 

 to. 



Some solids that have no taste in their ordinary 

 state acquire it in a singular way ; thus certain 

 metals have no taste urdess they have been re- 

 cently rubbeil. Others, that are perfectly tasteless 

 when separate, acquire one when they are brought 

 in contact witli each other. 



Taste is not «n attribute of (Hinderable matter 



•exclusively ; if R stream of electricity be directed 



on the tongiie from a ])ointed wire attached to the 



conductor of an electric machine, a distinct flavor 



lis observable. STinctimes tastes are perceived 



without the appliiHition of any external exciting 



, cause to the org'Ir. ; thus impressions of sour- 



. ness, bitterness, and saltness, are common results 



of disease. 



Substances iv»;d as food have always a certain 

 degree of taste, -and, within limits, the more deci- 

 ded the taste the more agreeable the aliment ; this 

 quality is culled an;?tWi7i/. The absense of it, or 

 insipidity, is so great a defect that it renders a 

 substance unfit for food ; the presence of such in 

 the mouth is ca|)Bble of exciting nausea, and even 

 the evacuation of the stomach. To some persons, 

 chewing a soft cork or a hit of white |iaper is a 

 sufficient emetic. Water, of tlje same temperature 

 a.s the month, acts in a similar way ; hut cold wa- 

 ter acquires taste from the air contained in it, and 

 its cohlness. 



Tastes are almost nevCr simple impressions, but 

 are the results of two or more acting at the same 

 time. The resulting effect is often very different 

 from the elementary tastes, and not a mixture of 

 them ; and this happens even when chemical Ci)m- 

 bination has not taken ))lace. If wild carrot. seed 

 be fermented in ale, the latter acquires the taste 

 of lemon peel, although neither the ale nor the 

 seed had the least flavor of the kind ; and the 

 <;ommon carrot nets in soups precisely as if salt 

 had been added. 



It is a curious fact that the elementary impres- 

 sions which produce a compound taste need not 

 always be applied to the mouth at the same time, 

 but may be applied as well in succession. The 

 fruit of the shridt called assabali, which is com- 

 mon in Dahomey, is nearly destitute of all flavor; 

 if chewed, it nevertheless so affects the nerves 



serving to th§ organ of taste, that all acids taken 

 afterwards into the month appear sweet ; vinegar 

 will be ndstaken for sueet wine, and a lime for a 

 sweet orange. 



This effect is, no doubt, produced by a certain 

 impression left on the nerves of taste, after the 

 cause is withdrawn, and of which the person who 

 makes the trial is not conscious. It would appear 

 that the nerves affected become torpid to that im- 

 pression, and remain so until they are excited to 

 action by the application of some other; and then 

 the original one revives. A person who eats a 

 raw onion will after a while cease to ])erceive its 

 flavor in his mouth ; hut in an hour or two he 

 may renew it by swallowing a cup of tea ; or, if 

 the atmosphere he warm, by a draught of very 

 cold water. The taste of a boiled onion is best 

 renewed by a small quantity of brandy diluted 

 with much water. If the aroma of pepper be dif- 

 fused over the mouth, the painfid heat of it will at 

 length subside ; hut let the experimenter take into 

 his month a little brandy, much diluted, and he 

 will perceive the heat of the pepper to return, and 

 the brandy will appear to him nnich stronger than 

 it really is. Those who practise framls on ardent 

 spirits are quite aware of this property of aromatic 

 substances : they first let down the strength of the 

 spirit with a litlle water, and then bring it up 

 again by infusing Cayenne pepper or cardamom 

 seeds; the stimulus of the pepper on the jtalate 

 disposes it to perceive the pungency of the spirit, 

 even in a liigher degree than it would otherwise 

 have done ; and that this is a mere deception of 

 the nerves of the organ is plain, from the fact that 

 the taste of the pepper is not perceived, while 

 that of the spirit is ; the latter being so nmch 

 greater in quantity. The taste of even the strong- 

 est brandy will be enhanced if a single cardamom 

 seed had been previously chewed. The contiary 

 practice has been sometimes resorted to, although 

 it is almost universally discontinued. When 

 wine is new, the fiery taste of its brandy predom- 

 inates on the [)alate ; to disguise this it was not 

 unusual to add to the wine a small portion of the 

 acetate of lead (a poison) which, by its sedative 

 effect on the organ of taste, caused the pungency 

 of the brandy to be less jierceptible. This was 

 not the only case in which sugar of lead was 

 used. 



To predispose the organ of taste to certain im- 

 pressions is a device which has been long prac- 

 tised, perhaps always. It is an old mode of crea- 

 ting a relish for wine to preface the exploits of 

 the evening by eating a few morsels of meat, 

 broiled with a large proportion of pepper an<l 

 mustard ; the stimulus on the p.ilate not only con- 

 tinued fur some time, but was perhaps reproduced 

 alter it woidd naturally have subsided ; and the 

 organ of taste, thus prepare<l, perceived a more 

 exalted flavor in the wine than would otherwise 

 have belonged to it, the efl'ect being quite inde- 

 pendent of thirst. 



The burning sensation produced in the mouth 

 by aromatic substances, may be reproduced by 

 liquids having a much higher or a much lower 

 temperature than the mouth itself. Thus when 

 the heat of pepper has subsided on the palate, it 

 may he ren(!wed in a slight degree, by a draught 

 of very cold water; and when the peculiar burn- 

 ing occasioned by chewing peppermint leaves has 

 disap|)eareil, a quantity of hot water taken into 

 the mouth will restore it. 



The substances whicU produce and reproduce 



a stimulus on the organ of taste need not always 

 he acrid or heating; some that are remarkable 



for mildness of flavor are equally efficacious 



Thus the root of liquorice, when long chewed, 

 leaves an impression of feeble sweetness, which 

 very gradually subsides ; as soon as it is no long- 

 er perceptible let the ))erson take a draught of 

 buttermilk, and instantly the sweetness will return. 

 The extract of liquorice, sold under the name ol 

 Spanish juice, possesses the same property with 

 regard to |iorter, in a slight degree it is true, but 

 sufficiently to modify the taste of porter in a man- 

 ner that is agreeable to many. Soitje persons 

 prepare their palate for a relish of this kind by 

 chewing some of this extract previously to taking 

 a draught of porter. On a somewhat similar prin- 

 ciple tnany people ajiprove of ale after a fruit pie, 

 when weak acidulous wines, as hock, would be 

 disagreeable ; for although a sweet and sour form 

 a good cotnbination, the latter does not bear to 

 follow the former. 



When stimuli have been applied to the organ 

 of taste, and the perception of flavors has thus 

 been rendered more than ordinarily acute, it will 

 be found that weak and vapid liquors will appear 

 to still greater disadvantages. Of this a person 

 need have no better proof than taking a draught 

 of weak and acescent beer after eating a highly 

 seasoned salad, it will be rendered far more disa- 

 greeable; whereas ale, in high order from the 

 bottle, and foaming with carbonic acid, will be 

 rendered more pungent and (lenetrating than ever. 

 It is on the same principle that coffee should 

 never precede tea, but ought to follow it ; and then 

 both beverages will produce their ]M-oper effect ; 

 this order however is rarely observed, because 

 coffee is an exciter of thirst; tlie nerves which 

 supply the organ of taste are overpowered by the 

 rough astringent bitterness of the cofiee, and are 

 then not in a condition to perceive the delicate 

 flavor of the tea, for delicacy is its chief perfec- 

 tion. Those physicians appear to be right who 

 flirect that delicate [)ersons slioidd create a relish 

 for a tea breakfast by the preparative of a slice of 

 toasted bacon ; few things are more successful iiv 

 rendering tea enticing. 



In culinary combinations of food, spices and 

 other stimulants are used, not merely for the pur- 

 I)ose of imparting their own flavor, with the view 

 of exciting the organ of taste to the perception of 

 the flavor of the meats, &c. of which tliey are 

 composed, in a higher degree than it wotild oth- 

 erwise have been. It is not the biting (piality of 

 pepper alone that is valued ; and wine is not used 

 in sauces that its taste, as such, nj.iy be perceived. 



When the flavor of an edible substance is very 

 delicate and pecidiar, the palate should never be 

 exciteti by powerful stimuli, either previously or 

 simultaneously ; for powerful stimuli act as pre- 

 servatives to other active ones only. There are 

 many instances of this; the natural flavor of sea- 

 kale, when in highest perfection from a proper 

 soil, is one in which may he distinguished that of 

 the most delicate oyster ; if it he jieppered, the 

 oyster flavor is entirely lost. If dressed cucumber 

 he eaten at the same time with kidney beans, the 

 latter lose the whole of their peculiar taste in a 

 singular manner. 



The temperature at which impressions are made 

 on the oigan of taste is of consequence, because it 

 considerably modifies ihpni. Every one must 

 have remarked that salted meat is much more salt 

 when hot than when cold ; and that spices have 



