The Winchester news., 1908-12-03
OUR E2RAT|C SENSES
Some of the Curious Facts Re-
corded by Physio.ogists.
THE PHENOMENA OF SOUND.


Of an Organ Are insudibIs to Some
Persons-Peculiarit Of the Deli
cate Sense OF Smell.
II you shade the eyes. you weaken
your sense OF hearing. Try 1t with
watch and the result will surprise you
II you sip a glass or cold water you
will increase for a short time your
power of vision. If you fill the mouth
with water, you Will greatly strength
en- your sense of smell.
Many similar curious facts about the
senses are told by Psychologists.
There is a multitude of sounds made
tn the world every day. for instance,
which we cannot bear. however close
they may be. Every sound must last a
certain time in order to he heard by
the ear. lf ii Is an extremely feeble
sound it must last quite two seconds
or we cannot hear it. Bnt 70 matter
how long it lasts, we cannot hear it If
# is a very low or a very high note.
Extremely small animals emit such
high notes that we never hear them.
Some people cannot even hear the
sQueal Of mice The lowest notes of
IN organ are mere rumbling noises to
most people, and some cannot hear
them at all.
1t is by means Of the external ear we
5udge the direction from which sound
comes. Stand facing a clock, place
your hands in front of your ears, with
the palms turned back. close your eyes;
you will then think the clock is behind
you.
Why can some animals smell more
keenly than others? 1t is question of
the space within the nose capable of
smelling. In man this space is very
Small-less than one-fourth of a square
inch. In dogs and most mammals it
% very much larger. The porpoise has
no sense OF smell. Then comes man.
and also the monkeys, whales and all
kinds of fowl and birds, with very
feeble smelling power. When peo-
Die talk of vultures scenting dead
bodies they make a mistake. Lions.
tigers. wolves, etc., can scent them at
long distances, but vultures depend on
their sense Of sight.
The sense of smell is exceedingly del
dcate. IL one ounce Of musk were di-
~fded into $4,000, 100000 parts one of
these infinitesimal parts would be per-
ceptible by the average persons nose.
On the other hand, many people have
70 hct
such as mignonette, vanilla, violets and
prussic acid.
Taste is curious in the fact that diff
1erent parts Of the tongue appreciate
different fiavors. At the tip we per-
eeive sweet tastes best, at the sides
acid tastes and at the back bitter
tastes. Substances must be dissolved
In order to be tasted, and dry morsel
1n a dry mouth has no flavor. This is
why smokers cannot taste well. Their
mouth glands. which manufacture sa-
Hva, are paralyzed by the tobacco
Very hot or very cold things are scarce
~ tasted at all. If you want to get
the best flavor from your food it must
be at some temperature between so
and 95 degrees.
Every one knows how easily the
sense Of sight is deceived by optical
puzzles. But a curious deception is
practiced on us all throughout our
lives, and no one ever perceives 1t
There is blind spot in the eye where
the optic nerve enters. In everything
we look at. therefore, there is little
gap where we see nothing. But no one
II aware Of it, because it has been the
case since we first opened our eyes.
In estimating distance we judge by
the experience we gain in walking.
The eye itself cannot judge distances.
A near hill and a distant mountain
viii each form an image of the same
Gize on the eye. We know the noun
tain is farther away than the hill be-
cause there are more intervening OBJ
5ects. But we can often make an esti-
mate of distance, in a curious way, by
the muscles of the eyeball. In order
TO focus a near object we must bulge
the lens. and to focus a distant object
we must f1atten the lens. The amount
OF muscular labor used in doing this
gives US an idea Of the distance of the
object
A man seems much thinner in dark
than in light clothing All black things.
In fact, appear smaller than white
things Of the same size An image re-
mains on the eye for some time after
hooking at an object If the thing is
very bright the image remains a long
time. and sometimes if you look direct
ay at the sun you will carry the image
of IT around with you for days.
Color blind people have a defective
musical sense. They confuse different
notes and. curiously, the confusion of
green blind people differs from the
confusion of red blind people Colors
strengthen the sense Of taste. Red ap-
pies and tomatoes and Strawberries
and green pickles taste better than the
selfsame vegetables and fruit when
they are paler
For feeling we have variety of
nerves. Some spots on the skin feel
pain, some warmth. some cold and
some simple touch The tip Of tho
finger has much better sense Of
A. l. AI.