company. Cold deadens taste to some 

 extent and heat acts in nearly the same 

 way. Rinse the mouth with very warm 

 or very cold water and then take in a 

 solution of quinine at about forty de- 

 grees temperature and the bitter fluid 

 will have almost no bitterness till the 

 temperature of the mouth and its con- 

 tents becomes somewhere near one hun- 

 dred degrees. 



Three things are necessary in a sub- 

 stance in order that it may be tasted, 

 and it is curious to note how common 

 are all three. First, it must be easily 

 mixed with the saliva; second, it must 

 easily spread itself about so that it may 

 mingle with the mucus that always 

 covers the papillae; and third, it 

 must be capable of acting chemically 

 on the protoplasm of the end organs 

 when once it gets into the taste bulb. 

 All tasteless substances have one or 

 more of these qualities lacking. Wipe 

 the tongue dry and place a sugar crys- 

 tal upon it. No taste will be experi- 

 enced until the spot is moistened. 



All substances do not taste alike to 

 different tongues We have noted the 

 difference in appreciation of certain 

 foods in infancy and in mature years. 

 Water tastes differently to the fever pa- 

 tient and to the well man. As sub- 

 stances taste differently at different 

 times to the same person, so they vary 

 with individuals. One tongue is found 

 on careful examination to have three 

 times as many papillae as another, one 

 system is more susceptible to chemical 

 action than another, and the nervous 

 system varies enough in different sub- 

 jects to make a considerable difference 

 in the powers of taste. 



One guest at table is delighted with 

 a dish which appeals not at all to the 

 palate of his neighbor. In fact there 

 are cases where the power of taste has 

 been temporarily or entirely lost. In 

 such cases the patient goes on with 

 his daily eating in a mechanical wa>-, 

 not because it tastes good, but because 

 he must. 



There seem to be different nerves for 

 sweet, for bitter, for salty things, and 

 for acids. Substances are known to 

 chemistry which act differently on the 

 nerves of the front and those of the 

 back of the tongue. They very cur- 



iously taste sweet to the nerves of the 

 tip of the tongue and at the same in- 

 stant bitter to those at the base. If 

 leaves of the Gynmema sylvestre be 

 chewed, sweet and bitter things are 

 tasteless for awhile although acids and 

 salts are tasted as usual. 



Let an electric current pass through 

 the tongue from the tip to the 

 root and a sour taste will be exper- 

 ienced at the tip. But no one has yet 

 explained why when the same sort of 

 current is passed through in the oppo- 

 site direction the taste is alkaline. 



Place a small piece of zinc under the 

 tongue and a dime on top. The saliva 

 which moistens them will cause them 

 to form a small galvanic battery. As 

 they are allowed to touch each other 

 at the tip of the tongue a sour taste will 

 be experienced and in the dark a spark 

 will appear to the eyes. 



There is a pretty microscopic forma- 

 tion on the sides of some of the papilla. 

 It consists of rows of small openings or 

 sacs egg-shaped with very minute 

 mouths at the surface. These are 

 known to science as taste bulbs. They 

 are so small that three hundred of 

 them put together the long way will 

 scarcely reach one inch. They are so 

 numerous that 1,760 have been counted 

 on one papilla of an ox's tongue. They 

 are not entirely confined to the surface 

 of the tongue, for they have been found 

 in large numbers upon the soft palate 

 and the uvula, and many have been 

 discovered on the back side of the 

 throat and down into the voice box, 

 some of them even appearing upon the 

 vocal cords. Their form is much like 

 that of a long musk melon, but they 

 are too small to be seen by the naked 

 eye. The outer part or rind consists of 

 rows of cells evidently formed to hold 

 what is within. On the inside are from 

 five to ten taste cells which are long 

 enough to reach the whole length of 

 the bulb and protrude slightly at the 

 opening where they are finely pointed. 

 They are attached at the other end and 

 branch out as if to run to several ex- 

 treniely fine divisions of the nerves. 



Birds and reptiles have no taste bulbs 

 in their papillae. Tadpoles and fresh- 

 water fishes have similar bulbs in their 

 skin, and it is thought they enjoy the 



