The Batesburg advocate. [volume] (Batesburg, S.C.) 1901-1911, 1904-12-02


af srcnt An AXE brute cre~tfep.
Is the sense OF smell dying ont among
civilized nen? Psychologists tell ne
that, although an entire segment OF
the brain-nanciy. the olfactcry lobe
is apportioned 10 the olfactory fibers.
what we now possess IS probably sthe
mere remiant OF Il once powerful
mechanism" In tie brute creation
the sense is much keener. although
among The lower aquatic animals 1t Is
iadiscrhninatcly blended with that OF
taste airi in the toothed whales is nom
existent. On the other hand, dogs,
especially those that haye been train
ed to hunt by scent, seem to depend
upon that faculty almost entirely, even
to the exclusion of their eyesight. II
it is 4 bad scenting7 day or IL his
nose is out of order you may see q re-
trieyer literally walk over q dead bird
or even lie down on the top of it,
pretty clear proof that he is not look
ing for his quarry. lie is smelling for
1t. A fox in covert will sometimes
run in and out among the very legs
OF the pack unnoticed, although in this
case the necessity for keeping their
heads down, owing to the fact that
animal smells are heavy and lie close
| to the ground, viii serve to prevent
hounds from using their eyes. A ter
rier will race down n drive, barking
| ecstatically at the sight of his master,
but even then he will usually give him
preliminary sniT before he is ALSO
lutely satisfied of his identity.
Generally speaking, sweet odors are
more persistent than their opposite, the
sulphureted compounds in particular
evaporating rapidly on exposure to the
atmosphere, although the smell of de-
caying animal matter is said to endure
for days after the cause of ii has been
removed. The olfactory sense, how
ever, usually becomes blunted in time
when assailed continuously by any one
Odor. Workmen in big perfumeries be-
come case hardened to the fragrance OF
their surroundings, and nose pain is
fortunately even more deadening in its
effects than most forms OF physical
suffering. Again, different smells do
not mix. Ii is said that if two nostrils
are stuffed with different substances
we smell first one aud then the other
alternately, but never blending of the
two together. This is probably the
case with the lower animals, too, and
explains how foxhounds can pick out
and follow the trail of a fox over
ground that has been tainted by sheep
or cattle. The writer personally has
seen pointer find birds successfully
all one afternoon on the western prai-
ries alta time the dog himself was so
odoriferous owing TO an unfortunate
encounter with a skunk Oh the preyi-
Gus day that he was hardly approach
able.
among haiiiiiii iIiJii iti tIsIis tiie sense
OF SMELL like those OF sight and hear
| ing, varies considerably, and certain
| persons seem 10 be quite unaffected by
certain odors, just as others are color
blind" TO certain colors or 'tone deaf
! to the shrill call of bat or the chirp-
| ing of a cricket. Perhaps it is indica-
tive Of the manner in which we are
| disseminating the use OF our noses that
there is no one word in the English
| language (such as blindness" or deaf
| neSs') signifying the complete absence
OF the perception of smell, although the
condition undoubtedly exists and is in
deed not uncommon as sequela OF
some diseases
1t is true that we may claim a SUI
periority to the brute creation in the
range Of our susceptibility to various
Odors, for the carnivora seem to be
! quite jnsensible to the scent OF plants
| and flowers, while the herbivora pay
! little attention TO animal odorS except
for the purpose of detecting the ap-
proach of enemies. But we are GER
tainly inferior to them in acuteness, at
all events we of the civilized races, al
though there seems to be no reason
| why this sense should not be cultivat-
ed and its efficiency REINFORCED by de-
| liberate training. This view is sup
! ported by the fact that men born deaf
! and dumb and blind have been known
! TO develop their latent powers of smell
/ to pitch of perfection quite unintel-
| ligible TO ordinary mortals. We use
/ spectacles to assist the eyesight, ear
| trumpets and artificial ear drums TO
| correct deafness; why should not
science supply us with some handy in
! strument that would stimulate the OIL
! factory fiberS or magnify the potency
| of effluvia? There are many ways in
/ which such an addition to our physical
I and mentaD equipment might be use
| ful, for the nose has the one cardinal
advantage over the eyes In that it is
quite Independent of light. After all,
even the range of vision may be outdis-
tanced by that of smell, If il be true,
! for instance, that the Spice islands of
the Indian archipelago are to be distiE-
guished far out at sea long before they
have been sighted from the lookout.
! According to Humboldt the Peruvian
! Indians on the darkest night cannot
only perceive the approach of stran-
ger while still far distant, but can
even tell whether he is negro or an
Indian or European. The Arabs OF
the desert are said to smell fire thirty
or forty miles away. The Indian OF
North America certainly uses his nose
in the pursuit Of game. and Major Gen
eral BadenPowell strongly recon-
mended the practice to white men in
his treatise on scouting
But il is not only savages and un-
civilized tribes who surpass us in the
efficiency Of this particular organ and