The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1903-02-25
MEMS FIVE SENSES.
CURIOUS FACTS ABOUT THEM NOT
GENERALLY KNOWN.

by Either Very Hot Very Cold
LiquiGs-The Ear Is Wonderful
Crgan-The Eyes Easily Deceived.
For some unknown reason different
parts of the tongue are assigned Tor
The perception OF different tastes.
With the tip we taste sweet substances
and salts, with the back we taste bitter
things and with the sides we taste
ucid9. The middle part of the tongues
surfnce has scarcely any sense of taste
At all.
The long named substance parabrom-
bcllzoic sulphinide produces most re-
markable effect, for 1t gives sense of
sweetness to the point of the tongue
and of bitterness to the back. Pure
water tastes sweet after sulphate OF
magnesia.
We can only taste things in solu-
ton: hence If the tongue were perfect
~ dry il would not be affected by the
strongest favored substance in dry
statc
The taste nerves are puralyzed by
very hot or very cold liquids. After
drinking very hot or lee cold water
we could not taste even such sub
stance as quinine. This fact supplies
a useful hint for consumers of i'll fla
vored medicines.
Smell, though the least useful, IS the
most delicate of all our senses We
can smell the three hundreds illionth
part of grain Of musk. No chemical
analysis can detect such minute guam
titles. The most powerful microscope
would not render a particle ten thou
sand times as large visible. We could
not taste 1t were 1t many thousand
times as large.
While we taste liquids, we can smell
only gases Fill your nostrils with eau
de cologne, and you will experience no
odor whatever. Fine as our sense OF
smell Is. it has deteriorated immensely
since the time when our forefathers
were wild men. The Calmucks can
smell an encampment twenty miles
away: the Peruvians can distinguish
all the South American races by their
odor.
But smell Is II sense highly suseep-
tible of cultivation even by the modern
white man. Dealers In tea, spices, per-
fumes and drugs, In consequence OF
their training, can distinguish the
faintest differences in odors.
The organ of hearing IL one of the
most marvellous pieces of mechanism
In the body In animals the external
ear acts ns Il trumpet 10 collect the
sound waves; in man it is little more
hut hn n
Is alike In both So wonderful is its
construction that we can distinguish
sounds varying from forty To 1000 vi
brntions per second. This feat Is per
formed by portion of the ear called
the organ of Corti. What wonderful
organ that is may he understood from
the fact that 1t consists of 1000 pieces
of apparatus. each piece being made
up of two rods, one inner hair cell and
four outer hair cells-thnt Is, $4,000
separate parts. In some mysterious
manner the rods. with other things, are
tuned to different notes, and when they
vhrntr they cause the hairs to trans
init all impulse TO the nerve of hearing.
To be musical therefore, is TO have
good organ OF Coru,
Why is it that scratching piece OF
glass with metal causes such m UNI
pleasant sound? Because II Is what Is
called the fundamental tone of the ear.
which is very high What the flinda-
mental tone exactly is would take too
much space to explain. but IL you blow
across the mouth of bottle, II hollow
globe, etc. you get its fundamental
tone
The ear L. deceptive organ, and 1t
is often matter of guessWork TO tell
whence Il sound comes. Indeed, If you
place the open hands in front of your
ears and curve them backward sounds
produced in front will appear to come
from behind
Human beings and monkeys see most
things with both eyes. our whole field
of vision extends over $50 degrees or
half Il circle. The middle half of this
we see with both eyes together. but
the quarter at each side Is seen only
with one eye
All other animals see most things
with one eye only. Scarcely ever can
they fix both eyes on anything at the
same time. But there are considerable
variations a bulldog. for instance,
somewhat closely approaches the con-
dition of II monkey. The larger the pu-
pill the greater the quantity of Hight
which enters the eye, Large PUZZLED
people. therefore, see the world IN
brighter and more cheerful state than
those with small pupils. They can see
lao in, . N Il nr if
AS every one knows from the optical
illusion pictures, the eyes are easily
deceived \ white square on Il black
ground appears larger than black
square OF the same size on q white
ground. Red near green looks reddcr;
blue near yellow looks bluer; white
near black looks whittier.
Touch really includes several senses.
Thus there are spots on the skin which
feel heat only. spots which feel only
cold. spots which feel only pain. spots
which feel only pressure and spots
which feel tickling. These spots are
supplied with nerves capable OF doing
only one particular duty The sensa-
tons of the skin are grouped by physi-
oiogists Into three kinds-touch. pain
and temperature. The skin which COW
ers scar has only one kind of sensa-
ton. II can feel neither pressure (touch
proper nor temperature. but perceives
pain very acutely. The tongue Is the
most sensitive of all parts TO touch. the
forehead and elbow TO heat or cold.
We only dream sights and sounds
We never dream tastes or smells. If
we dream of flower garden, we see
the flowers. but do not smell them. II
we dream of Il dinner we see the dish
cs. hut do not taste them.
ponr