The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1896-12-15
MEASURING AN opoR.
Science shows UA ths Way 20 Identity
Smells unsrringiy.

Smells Unsrringly.
Nothing is more subtle, more
evanescent, than an odor, and one
would think that IL there were ado
main likely 10 remain forever free
from scientific measurement it
would be that Of scents.
But now canes NJ. Eugene Mes
nard. a French botanist, who pro-
Deeds to unlock the main gate of the
fastness that had 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 n science j
rapid in proportion to the ease with
/ which measurements may be per-
formed in il. 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 it went
ahead almost at bound. Who can
tell what the science of odors will or
will not do, now that the prime es-
Sential to its progress has been dis
covered?
We are already able by the sense
of smell 20 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
Whit of ammonia Is more or less
powerful than another, but we can
not assign n number TO each. The
more powerful one might be twice
OF thrice or a hundred times as pow
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 an entirely different odor
= say the perfume of a 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
e ferent only by n very little. BE
Y finds that if some very characteristic
odor DO mingled with the one to be
measured there is a certain proper
tion of the two where they balance.
as it were, and form what he calls a
neutral odor. In this state the
addition of a very little more of Ell.
g ther scent causes that one tp pre-
E. dominate. When they are thus bal.
= anced, the intensities of the two
: odors are equal, and by properly
choosing a standard odOr we car
thus compare all others with it and
;. hence indirectly with each other.
This Is the way NJ. Mesnard goe.
h TO work TO make his measurement
o. The perfume whose intensity is &
be measured or tho object that give:
2. it toff-say bunch of violets-is con
= fined under a bell glass. The odoi
z. of turpentine is pumped in by squeez
l. ing n rubber bulb till the "neutra
4 odor" is obtained, the experiments
y keeping watch, rs il were, b.
" smelling mt a connecting tube. Thu
the mixed scents are admitted lit
tic at time into a jar containing
II glowing phosphorus. The amour
l. admitted Is registered by the turn
= of a handle and the number of turn
II necessary to put out the phosphoru
gives the measure of the quantity o
- turpentine and hence of the inten
D sity of the odor that was neutralize
p. by it.
= We may expect if such measure
ments rs this are TO be carried on
very frequently a great increase Q
'e delicacy in smell among those WIZ
in perform them. At present this sens
- has been much neglected. The proC
|, esses of evolution have passed it b.
on one side of the human species, a
y though in others-the dog, for in
~ stance-it has been marvelously d'
g. veloped. But, n certain modern nj
n thorities have pointed out, man Ia
to a great extent taken his evolutio
into his own hands.
'n Perhaps NJ. Mesnard is giving Us
little shove toward an almost dol
like perfection of scent.-New Yor
lo Journal
III -----
Story OF NiaEHrA-