The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1896-10-16


Nothing 10 more subtle. moro
evanosoent, than an odor, and one
would think that ~ there were do
main likely 10 remain forever free
from scientific measurement IL
would be that of scents
But now comes n. Eugene Mes
nard. N French botanist. who pro
ceeds TO unlock the main gate OF the
fastness that lad seemed impregna-
BILE. He has discovered a simple and
easy method of measuring the inten- |
sity of an odor. Modern authorities
hold that the progress of a science 10 .
rapid In proportion TO the ease with
which measurements may be per-
formed in it. Electricity made almost
no progress at all till exact methods
of measuring charges and currents
and the forces of electric attraction
and repulsion were devised, and
when these were perfected IL went
ahead almost at q bound. Who can
tell what the science Of odors viii OF
viii not do. now that tho prime es-
sentiAl to its progress has been die
coveredg
We are already able by the sense
Of smell to distinguish very exactly
between different kinds of scents-
Every man without special practice
can doubtless recognize hundreds of
substances with the aid of the nose
alone. We can tell whether one
| ww.r.aEW - aw~ww.s~ l. Naaaa
powerful than another, but we can
not assign a number TO each. The
more powerful one might be twice
or thrice or n hundred times as DOW
erful as the other for all we can tell
And who. to go further still, would
venture TO assign the exact strength
of Whit of ammonia that should
be equal TO en- entirely different odor
say the perfume of n rose? Yet
all this and more NJ Mesnard has
done.
He takes advantage Of the delicate
qualitative power of the sense of
smell-that Is. of its ability to dis
criminate between odors. be they diff
ferent only by a very little. He
finds that IL some very characteristics
odor be min yled with the one to Be
measured there is a certain proper
ton of the two where they balance.
as it were, and form what he calls q
neutral odor." In this state the
addition of a very little more of ell
ther scent causes that one TO pre-
dominate. When they are thus bal.
anoed, the intensities of the two
odors are equal. and by properly
choosing a standard odor we Can
thus compare all others with it and
hence indirectly with each other.
This is the way NJ. Mesnard goes
to work to make his measurement:
The perfume whose intensity il q
be measured or tho object that gives
it itoff-say n bunch of violets-is con.
fined under n bell glass. The odor
of turpentine is pumped In by squeez
ing n rubber bulb till the "neutrn
odor" is obtained. the experimentei
"keeping watch" as IL were. by
, smelling at a connecting tube. TheT
the mixed scents are admitted a Lit
tie at time into n jar containing
glowing phosphorus Tho amount
admitted Is registered by the turni
, of a handle and the number of turns
necessary 10 put out the phosphorui
, gives the measure of the quantity o
: turpentine and hence of the inten
. sity of the odor that was neutralize,
. by it.
. We may expect If such measure
: ments as this are TO be carried on
! very frequently q great increase o
, delicacy in smell among those WI,
o perform them. Atpresent this sem,
d has been much neglected. The proc
esses of evolution have passed it b,
0 on one side Of the human species, nj
o though in others-the dog. for in
6 stance-it has been marvelously dc
\ veloped. But. as certain modern au
b thOrities have pointed out, man ha
g to n great extent taken his evolution
: into his own hands.
Perhaps NJ Mesnard is giving us
little shove toward an almost dog
o like perfection Of scent.-Nsw Yorl
d Journal.
A story Of NlAGArA-