Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 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
strictly dependent upon our personal haD-
its and manners. The test we thus occa
sionally apply, even in the civilized state,
to unknown bodies is one that is being APP
piled every day and all day long by chill
dren and savages. Unsophistieated hui
mainly is constantly putting everything it
sees up to its mouth in Il frank spirit Of
experimental inquiry as to Its gustatory
properties. In civilized life we find every
thing ready labeled and assorted for US ;
we comparatively seldom require to roll
the contents of a suspicious bottle lin very
small quantities. doubtfully upon the
tongue in order to discover whether it is
pale sherry or Chill vinegar, Dublin stout
or mushroom letchup. But lin the savage
state, from which, geologically and biolog-
icaliy speaking, we have only just emerged,
bottles and labels do not exist. Primitive
man. therefore, in his sweet simplicity, has
only two modes open before him for decid-
ing whether the things he finds are or are
not strictly edible. The first thing he
does is to sniff at them, and smell being, rs
Herbert Spencer has well put it, an antlci-
patory 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 ex-
anime its further characteristics. Strictly
speaking, with the tip of the tongue one
can't really taste at all. If you put Il
small drop of honey or of oil Of bitter
almonds on that part of the mouth, you
will find mo doubt TO your great SURPRISED
that it produces no effect of any Sort you
only taste it when it begins slowly to diff
fuse itself, and reaches the true tasting
region in the middle distance. But if you
put little cayenne pepper or mustard on
the same part, you will find that IL bites
vol immediately-the experiment should
he 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 belong to
totally different main branch, and they so
to different center in the brain, together
with the very similar threads which sup
ply the nerves OF smell for mustard and
pepper. That is why the smell and taste
of these pungent substances are so much
alike. as everybody must have noticed
a good sniff at mustard pot producing
almost the same irritating effect as an in
cautious mouthful. AS a rule we don't
accurately distinguish, it is true, between
these different regions of taste in the
mouth in ordinary life; but that is be
cause we usually roll our food about in
stinctively, without paying much atten-
ton to the particular part affected by it.
Indeed, when one is trying deliberate ex-
periments in the subject, in order to test
the varying sensitiyeness of the different
parts to different substances, it is necessary
to keep the tongue quite dry in order to
isolate the thing you are experimenting
with and prevent 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 be-
tween each experiment with pair of bel
lows To such undigniied expedients does
the pursuit of science lead the ardent mod
ern psychologist. Those domestic rivals of
DR. Forbes Winslov, the servants, who be-
hold the enthusiastic investigator alter