VARIATIONS IN THE SENSE OF SMELL 197 



halves. And it seems immoderately large to us — to man 

 — because, after all, so far as our conscious lives are con- 

 cerned, the sense of smell has very small importance. Yet 

 man has a very considerable set of olfactive chambers 

 within the nostrils and has large olfactory nerves. Not 

 rarely men and women are found who are absolutely devoid 

 of the sense of smell, and the same thing occurs with 

 domesticated cats and dogs. In these cases the olfactory 

 lobes of the brain are imperfectly developed. It is found 

 that men in this condition suffer but little inconvenience in 

 consequence. We are able, through their statements, to 

 ascertain what parts of the savoury qualities of food and 

 drink belong to taste and what to smell. Such individuals 

 do not perceive perfumes, the bouquet of wine, or the 

 fragrance of tobacco, nor can they appreciate the artistic 

 efforts of a good cook. But they are spared the pain of 

 foul smells, and possibly in this way they may incur some 

 danger in civilised life through not being able to detect the 

 escape of sewer-gas or of coal-gas into a house, or the 

 putrid condition of ice-stored fish, birds, and meat. A 

 friend of my own, who is devoid of the sense of smell, in- 

 herited this defect from his father, and has transmitted it 

 to some of his children. I was surprised to find in con- 

 versing with him how often I alluded to smells, either 

 pleasant or unpleasant, when (as we had agreed he should) 

 he would interrupt me and say that my remark had no 

 meaning for him. 



Some have a far more acute sense of smell than others, 

 and again some men, probably without being more acutely 

 endowed in that way, pay more attention to smells, and 

 use the memory of them in description and conversation. 

 Guy de Maupassant is remarkable as a writer for his 

 abundant introduction of references to agreeable and 

 mysterious perfumes, and also to repulsive odours. But 

 some men certainly have an exceptionally acute sense of 



