~ ODORS AND LIFE. 197% 
from table and took flight whenever he saw apples upon 
it. History tells us that Louis XIV. could not bear per- 
fumes. Grétry was greatly annoyed by the odor of roses ; 
that of a hare caused Mdlle. Contat to faint. Odors which 
disgust us, like that of asafcetida and of the valerian-root, 
are on the contrary highly enjoyed by the Orientals, who 
use these substances for condiments. Among other singu- 
lar instances related by Cloquet on this subject, we will 
mention that of a young girl who took the greatest delight 
in inhaling the scent of old books, and that of a lawyer to 
whom the exhalations of a dunghill yielded the most 
agreeable sensations. So that it is out of our power to fix 
general rules with respect to the influence of odors on our 
organs, and the character of the sensations which they ef- 
fect in us; still, from a purely physiological point of view, 
it is certain that some of them exercise a uniform influence. 
Chardin and other travelers mention that, when musk-hunt- 
ers take from the animal the pouch containing musk, they 
must have the nose and mouth covered by a cloth doubled 
in several folds, if they would escape violent heemorr- 
hage. 
The smell of the lily, the narcissus, the tuberose, the 
violet, the rose, the elder, etc., when it reaches a certain 
point of concentration, usually exerts an injurious influence 
on thesystem. It occasions more or less severe headaches, 
fainting-fits, and sometimes even more serious disorders. 
Some odors which have an agreeable perfume in a state of 
considerable diffusion, gain when concentrated a noxious 
and sometimes dangerous smell. This is particularly true 
of civet, patchouli, and the essences of neroli and thyme. 
Scientific records mention several cases of death occasioned 
by the poisonous action of some odorous emanations. It 
has been remarked that plants of the family of labiates, 
such as sage, rosemary, etc., offer in this respect no sort of 
risk, and seem rather to possess wholesome properties. Yet 
