Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-12-07
a sys...HoAi or SMELLS.

IN not taxing.
,rqe3s3A SYA..'HONi OF SMELLS.
It is said by some naturalists that of
mans 1--WE senses. that Of smell Is the
most poorly developed, and the least
needed, though quite the opposite is the
case even with the lowest orders Of the
brute creation. This scientific fact. how
ever. did not bother certain ingenious
German of Gotham. who recently con-
ceived the idea that he would entertain
X bly, Is Of pcople) by what he called
a. S..melody Of odors.'' 1t was his
purpose to treat the crowd to series
of pleasant odoIs-to a perfume con-
cert as 1t were-and to work them up
into del.rium of ecstacy through the
medium Of their olfactory organs. The
Odors were to be disseminated by means
OF an electric fan and all that the people
were asked to do was to sit there and
sniff and smell
To make long story short. the perfume
concert came off. and the people were
there. each and every one following his
nose and preparing to take in every
thing pleasant that came towards the
respective proboscies of the eager crowd.
There mus. have been much sentiment
and no little poetry in that Teuton. for
when the electric fan fi.st began Its
odoriferous work. il sent forth sym
phony" In rose perfume which. we are
informed. was intended to convey the idea
that the audience was leaving America
for, trip to Japan In sixteen minutes.
But of course. they were not leaving for
Japan. AS a matter Of fact, most Of
them were leaving for home almost as
soon as they smeii that SMELL and a mo-
nent later when they got Whit OF what
was supposed to be "v.olets growing along
the banks of the Rhine. those who had
had the courage to linger, also vamosed
the ranch. The audience knew when they
had enough; in this case they got enough
quickly The concert was a flat failure.
The observation that what is one mans
meat Is anothers poison is one of the
most ancient and useless of proverbs. 1t
describes fact: but not more unas-
sa.labe one than that what delights my
nostri!s may be offensive to yours. Musk
is not what the society people of this
day like as perfume. but once upon
time there were some fashionable folks
who used 1t. The faint. delicate odor Of
the violet is usually thought to be very
-i1 ioIo
some people. This is more apt to be the
case with the counterfeit product OF the
chemists shops. than with what comes
from Natures garden. Peppermint seems
to us to be an honest. wholesome and an
,i-dyspeptic odor. but there are people
to whom 1t is Objectionable in a high de-
gree.
These are examples enough to convince
us that no ones judgment as to what is
or is not a sweet smell can be relied
lpon as infali;ble. The best we can do
is 10 be guided by fashion-a useful ar
bitter in numherless cases. But all this
aside.
Poets have written much about odors-
it. In fact. the sweet soap and perfume
manufactures have no better friends chan
the poets: but it seems 10 us that that
German might have made more
success of his concert had he
worked in few domestic smells
Illustrative Of everyday home life
For instance, he might have held
his audience with the odor OF broiled
ham Especially if the audience knew
sandwiches were coming afterwards). or
quail on toast. We believe. too. that the
oder OF preserves stewing on hot stove
would have appealed to some. while many
would have recognized in the aroma Of
boiled cabbage a homely dish which ap-
peals to not few cast-iron digestIons.
But why need we enumerate. especially
when the very process stimulates our
appetite? The point we wish to make is
this: There are smells and smells and
perfumes and perfumes But SO far as
the Association Of ideas" IS concerned
the greatest melody Of odors' will be
found in those smells which appeal to
another of our senses Sour sense of taste.