The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1885-01-17
The Tip of the Tongue.


When we want to assure ourselves, by
means of taste, about any unknown object
say lump of some white stuff, which
may be crystal or glass or alum or borax or
quartz or rock-salt-we put the tip of the
tongue against it gingerly. If it begins to
burn us we draw it away more or less rap
idly, with an accompaniment in language
and manners. The test we thus occasion
ally apply, even in the civilized adult state,
to unknown bodies, is one that is being ap-
piled every day and all day long by child
ren and savages. Unsophisticated human
ity is constantly putting everything it sees
up to its mouth in frank spirit of exper-
mental inquiry as to its gustatory properties.
In civilized life we find everything ready
labeled and assorted for us; we compare
lively seldom require to roll the contents of
a suspicious bottle Gin very small quanti-
ties) doubtfully upon the tongue in order
to discover whether it is pale sherry or
Chill vinegar, Dublin stout or mushroom
ketchup But in the savage state, from
which, geologically and biologically speak
ing, we have only just emerged, bottles and
labels do not exist Primitive man, there
fore, in his sweet simplicity, has only two
modes open before him for deciding whether
the things he finds are or are not strictly
edible The first thing he does is to sniff
at them, and smell being, as Mr.. Herbert
Spencer has well put it, an anticipatory
taste, generally gives him some idea of what
the thing is likely to prove. The second
thing he does is to pop it into his mouth,
and proceed practically to examine its fur
ther characteristics Strictly speaking,
with the tip of the tongue one can't really
taste at all. IF you put small drop Of
honey or of oil of bitter almonds on that
part of the mouth, you will find (no doubt
to your great surprise) that it produces no
effect of any sort; you only taste it when it
begins slowly to diffuse itself, and reaches
the true tasting region in the middle dis
tance. But if you put little cayenne or
mustard on the same part, you will find
that it bites you Immediately expert
ment should be tried sparingly-while if
you put it lower down in the mouth you
will swallow it almost without noticing the
pungency of the stimulant The reason is
that the tip of the tongue is supplied only
with nerves which are really nerves of
touch, not nerves of taste proper; they be-
long to totally different main branch, and
they 90 to a different centre in the brain,
together with the very similar threads
which supply the nerves of smell for mus
tard and pepper. That is why the smell
and taste of these pungent substances are
so much alike, as everybody must have
noticed; good sniff at mustard pot pro
ducing almost the same irritating effect as
an ineautious mouthful As a rule, we
don't accurately distinguish, it is true, be-
tween these different regions of taste in the
mouth in ordinary life; but that is because
we usually roll our food about instinctively,
without paying much attention to the par
ticular part affected by it. Indeed, when
one is trying deliberate experiments on the
subject, in order to test the varying sensi-
tiyeness of the different parts to different
tongue quite dry in order to isolate the
thing you are experimenting with and pre-
vent its spreading to all parts of the mouth
together In actual practice this result Is
obtained in rather ludicrous manner-by
blowing upon the tongue between each ex
pertinent with pair of bellows. To such
undignifed expedients does the pursuit of
science lead the ardent modern psychologist.
Those domestic rivals of DIR. Forbes Wins
low, the servants, who behold the enthusi-
astic investigator alternately drying his
tongue in this ridiculous fashion, as if he
were blacksmith's fire. and then squeezing
out single drop of essence of pepper, vim
egar or beef tea from glass syringe upon
the dry surface, not unnaturally arrive at
the conclusion that master has gone stark
mad, and that, in their private opinion, it's
the microscope and skeleton as has done it.
Figures are wonderful things. Here is
sample of what can be done with them
By placing one grain of corn on the first
square of chess board, doubling the num-
Der of grains for each succeeding square,
the quantity of corn required for the whole
board of sixty-four squares would fill /,
844,375 barns, each holding 100000
bushelsof 100000 grains each, in round
numbers. If the United States grows ),
100000 bushels each year, it would
require little over $50 years to make
enough.