180 PHYSIOLOGY 



The sense of smell in the goat is so acute, and the nicety in their 

 food so great, that they will not eat anything, such as a piece of bread, 

 that has been breathed npon by a human being. 



Quadrupeds seldom breathe through their mouths, almost always 

 through their noses, so that it may be said they are always on the 

 scent ; for the nose seems to .make up for the deficiency of the eye, and 

 they chiefly receive information by the nose. For this purpose, too, the 

 nose is more free from mucus in other animals than the human, so that 

 the glands are' not so numerous. I believe that herbivorous animals 

 always breathe through the nose, and this constancy fits the nose better 

 for choosing the food. 



Of the Organ of Taste. 



The sense of taste has an organ fitted for its reception, and nerves 

 for its conveyance. It appears to have a greater analogy to touch than 

 any of the others, and appears to be as universal, few animals being 

 endowed with touch but what are most probably also endowed with 

 taste. 



This organ is placed as a sentinel at the beginning of the passage 

 into the stomach, called the mouth, lying on the lower surface of that 

 cavity, so that the substance to be tasted comes more readily in contact 

 with the organ. It gives intelligence to the mind, which permits only 

 such food to pass as is in general salutary. 



It is, in most animals, a projecting body, but much more so in some 

 than in others. Its shape is various, being in general nearly the shape 

 of the lower j aw, in those animals that have that bone, as in Fish, 

 Amphibia, Birds, and Quadrupeds ; but in many other animals the shape 

 is adapted to the various purposes or uses it is put to, as in the bee 1 , 

 the whelk 2 ; and in others it varies its shape considerably, according to 

 the various motions it is performing, as in the toad 3 , chameleon 4 , wood- 

 pecker 5 , ant-bear 6 ; where, when at rest, it is of the same shape with 

 the jaw, but when in use it forms itself into another shape. 



It has motions in all animals, but more so in some than in others : 

 when its motion is least it is perhaps nearly simply the organ of taste, 

 which is probably the case with most fish 7 ; however, in many fish it 

 serves as a retainer of the food, having teeth placed upon its surface, as 



[Hunt. Preps. Nos. 1439-1440. See Animal Economy, p. 455. 



[lb. Nos. 1441-1444.] 3 [lb. No. 1451.] 



[lb. Nos. 1453-1455.] 5 [lb. Nos. 1477-1479.] 



[lb. Nos. 1502, 1503. | 7 [lb. Nos. 1447-1449.] 



