The Organism and its Chemistry 85 



in smell and taste, are the only or even the chief chemical 

 differences between the or^'anisms concerned. Takiim- the 

 first question first, we may make it more specific by asking- 

 if there is any evidence as to whether or not species of tlie 

 same genus and varieties of the same species are kiijOWn 

 to differ from one another in smell, or their flesh in taste. 



Special students of mammals and birds seem to have given 

 less attention to odors as specific differences in tliese classes 

 than the subject deserves. I find little beyond incidental 

 reference to the matter in the literature consulted, and Dr. 

 Joseph Grinnell, Director of the ^Museum of A'ertebrate 

 Zoology at the Universit}' of California, writes "I know of 

 no naturalist who has attempted to make a general classi- 

 ficatory study of odors." Answering my question as to 

 whether the different species of skunks and petrels are dis- 

 tinguishable b}' their odors, this experienced naturalist tells 

 me he cannot smell any difference between two species of 

 skunk, a Spilogale and a Mephitis, and that the species of 

 the genus Oceanodroma (petrels) produce an odor which, 

 "as far as my experience has gone, seems identical in all 

 the species." But Dr. Grinnell says he can distinguish a 

 weasel from a skunk by smell, not only in the volume as one 

 might say, but in the quality of the odor. And the two 

 genera Mustila and Mephitis to which these animals belong, 

 are allowed by all mammologists to be rather close of kin. 



As to petrels, Mr. L. M. Loomis, whose work on the water 

 birds of the Pacific Coast of North America is widely and 

 favorably known, writes : "The strong musky odor of the 

 petrels renders their discovery in the rock piles easy. It is 

 only necessary to insert the nose into likely crevices to find 

 them. With little practice one may become very expert 

 in this kind of hunting, readil}^ determining whether it Is an 

 auklet or a petrel that has its residence in any particular 

 cranny." The auklets and petrels are rather widely sej)- 

 arated in the system of classification, being assigned to dif- 



