The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1903-05-27

SMELL AcuTeLY DEVELOPED.
condttion That Is q Positive Discom-
fovt--Ide ntlfication BY odors.


fort--IdentIfication by odors.
The sense Of smell in many more
persons than is generally known is SO
Keen as to be to them a source Of posi-
tye discomfort. Helen Kellar, who IL
both deaf and blind and regarded as
the most wonderful person bearing
such infirmities that ever lived, finds
compensation for the loss of these
two senses in the senses of taste and
smell, both of which she has developed
to marvellous degree OF acuteness.
II is said that by odor alone she is
always conscious of the presence of an
other person, no matter how noiseless
his or her entrance into the room in
which she may be. Her sense of touch
is so developed that by placing her
hands on the face of visitor she is
able to detect shades of emotion which
even the normal human eye fails to
distinguish.
In recent work entitled Anomalies
and Curiosities of Medicine" a chap
ter is given to the subject of human
odors II notes that each individual as
well as each species is in life envel-
oped with an odor peculiarly its own,
due to its eXhaled breath and in large
degree to its insensible perspiration.
The faculty of recognizing an odor
in different individuals, although more
developed in savage tribes, is by no
means unknown in civilized society.
Instances are given where a young
man. like a dog, could smell an enemy
by the scent; or women who could not
tolerate the presence of certain indl-
viduals of their own race because of
their odor; of another who could not
sleep in a bed that any one else had
made because of the odor left by the
hands of the one that made It.
According to medical authorities,
sex, age, climate, habits, ailments, the
passions, the emotions and the occupa-
tions modify the difference in the hui
mors exhaled, resulting in necessarily
different odors. The sourish smell of
nursing infants is caused by the buty-
ric acid of the milk. Bottle fed chill
dren smell like strong butter. Old age
produces an odor similar to that of dry
leaves. There have been persons who
declared that they could tell approxi-
mately the age of individuals by the
sense of smell.
Many tribes and races of peoples not
distinguished by cleanliness have
strong characteristic odors. The Es-
quimaux and Gresnlanders have the
odor of their greasy and oily foods.
1t Is said that Cossacks leave the at
mosphere charged with odors several
hours after their passage through a
neighborhood The lower race of
Cinnamon are said to he distinguished
by a musty odor.
The emotions are said to have q de-
cided influence on the odor of an in
divldual. Mention is made of young
man. unfortunate in love and violently
sickening and pernicious odor. One
medical authority speaks of young
woman whose hands exhaled the
strong odor of vanilla, and of another
who, on her deathbed eXhaled the
odor of musk, though neither of them
used these perfumes.
A Frenchman says the odor of the
sweat of lunatics resembles that of
yellow deer or mice. Another authority
declares that in the absence of further
evidence he would not hesitate in de-
claring a person insane il he could
perceive certain associate odors.-In-
diGnapolls News.