SMELL. 77 



feet and walk ; then it shook itself, and afterwards 

 scratched its side with one of its feet ; then we saw 

 it smelling to every one of these thing's that were set 

 in the room ; and when it had smelt to them all, it 

 drank up the milk*." 



In the instance of Galen's kid, as well as of the 

 young- ducks, the nose was brought near to the object 

 whose smell was to be ascertained ; but, in some very 

 singular instances, this appears to be perceived in a 

 manner not a little puzzling. We can easily under- 

 stand indeed that swine, when ploughing up the 

 ground in search of roots, may distinguish, by smell- 

 ing such as they chance to turn up, what is suited to 

 them for food, for this is nothing more than was 

 done by Galen's kid ; but when we are told they 

 are employed on the Continent to hunt for truffles 

 (Tuber cibarium, SIBTHORP), we must infer that 

 their sense of smell is rather beyond what we can 

 well conceive by comparison with our own perceptions. 

 The truffle-gatherer, we are told, ties a cord round 

 the animal's leg, drives him into the pastures, and 

 wherever he begins to root with his nose, truffles are 

 found at the depth of several inches, though the 

 truffle before it is cooked has by no means a strong 

 or remarkable smell. Dogs, however, are employed 

 in a similar manner for the discovery of truffles, and 

 with a success which is astonishing to those who 

 witness this exercise of instinct for the first timet. 



We have observed a still more remarkable instance 

 of the same kind in the mole (Talpa cceca* SAVI.). 

 As this singular creature feeds chiefly upon earth- 

 worms, it is well fitted for hunting after them under 

 ground, from being able to burrow with great ra- 

 pidity by means of its snout and claws; but what is 

 more worthy of notice still, is its faculty of discovering 

 their haunts. Worms, it may be remarked, are not 



* De Locis, vi. 6. t London's Encycl. of Plants, p. 1024, 



