THE EAR. 243 



as to their wholesomeness or unwholesomeness, 

 and we are naturally led to smell any thing new to 

 us before we venture to taste it. 



The ear is a most complex and beautiful organ. 

 It is the most perfect acoustic, or hearing instru- 

 ment, with which we are acquainted, and the 

 ingenuity and skill of man would be ill vain exer- 

 cised to imitate it. 



By the ear we are made sensible of sound. If a 

 glass, or any other sonorous body, be struck, it vi- 

 brates, and emits what we call sound. This sotind 

 spreads into the surrounding air, and is carried 

 forwards, by a series of undulations, or waves, to a 

 distance determined by its fcrce or intensity, and 

 the direction of the wind. 



These undulations strike the ear, and give us 

 the impression of sound. In order that this im- 

 pression should be conveyed to the sensorium, or 

 brain, the ear has been provided; and it is singu- 

 larly and beautifully adapted for the purpose. 



The outward ear is so constructed as to collect 

 the sound, which passes forwards and strikes what 

 is called the drum. This is a circular membrane 

 stretched across the passage leading to the internal 

 ear. This drum vibrates, and gives the same 

 vibration to a set of curious little bones connected 

 with it, and these carry the sound onwards to a 

 winding passage filled with fluid. 



The whole surface of this part is lined by the 

 filaments, or twigs, of the auditory or hearing 

 nerve, and this is the immediate seat of the impres- 



