The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1908-10-07
Our EnnAT|C SEI''ccr1:S
Some of the Curious Facts I,e-
corded by Psychologists.
THE PHENOMENA OF SOUND,

Observation-Disclosures Of the Deli.
cate Sense Of Smell.
IT you shade the eyes, you weaken
your sense OF hearing. Try it with Il
watch and the result will surprise YOU.
If you sip a glass Of cold water, you
will increase for a short time your
power of vision. If you fill the mouth
with water, you will greatly strength
ell your sense Of smell.
Many similar curious facts about the
senses are told by Psychologists.
There is a multitude Of sounds made
in the world every day, for instance.
which we cannot hear, however close
they may be. Every sound must last a
certain time in order to he heard by
the ear. If 1t is an extremely feeble
Or we cannot hear it. But. no matter
how long it lasts, we cannot hear it if
it is Il very low or a very high note.
Extremely small animals emit such
high notes that we never hear them.
Some people cannot vel hear the
squeal Of mice. The lowest notes Of
nm organ are mere rumbling noises to
most people. and some cannot zeal
them ut all.
1t is by means of the external ear we
Judge 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.
kcenly than others? It is q question of
the space within the nose capable Of
smelling. In mar this space is very
snall-less than one-fourth Of a square
inch. In dogs and most mammals it
Is very much larger. The porpoise has
no sense Of smell. Then ONE man.
and also the monkeys. whales and all
kinls of fowl and birds, with very
feeble smelling power. When peo-
pie 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 Of sight.
The sense Of smell is exceedingly del
icate. If n ounce of musk We're d.
vided into Is OO,OO0.O0O parts one OF
these infinitesimal parts would be per-
ccptible by the average persons nose.
On the other hand, many people have
10 power to smell some substances,
such as ~mignonette. vanilla. violets and
prussic acid.
Taste is curious in the fact that diff
ferent parts Of the tongue appreciate
different tlayors. At the tip we per-
ceive sweet tastes best. at the sides
acid tastes and at the back bitter
tastes. Substances must be dissolved
in order to be tasted. and a dry morsel
in Il dry mouth has no favor. This is
why smokers cannot taste well. Their
mouth glands. which manufacture sa-
Iva. 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 80
and o5 degrees.
Every Il 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 n ever perceives it.
There is a blind spot In the eye where
the optic nerve enters. In everything
we look at. therefore. there Is a little
gap where we see nothing. But no one
Is aware of 1t. because It has been the
case since we first opened III eyes.
In estimating distance we judge by
the experience we gain In walking.
The eye itself canno judge distances.
\ near hill and a distant mountain
will each form an image Of the same
size on the eye. We know the noun
tain Is farther away than the hill be.
cause there are more intervening OBJ
jects. 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 nea object we must bulge
the lens, and to focus a distant object
we must tlatten the lens. The amount
OF muscular labor used in doing this
gives us an i,lea Of the distance Of the
object.
y 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
looking at an object. If the thing is
very bright the image remains 4 Ion.
time, and sometimes if you look direct.
~ ut the sun you will carry the image
Of it around with you for days.
Color blind people have a defective
musical ems They confuse different
notes. and. c%uriously. the confusion of
green bind people differs from the
confusion OF red blind people. Co.ors
strengthen the sense of taste. Red ap.
pies ana tomatoes and Strawberries
and green pickles taste better than the
selfsame vegetables and fruit when
they are palcr.
For feeling we have a variety of
nerves. Some spots on the skin feel
pain, some warmth. some cold and
some simple touch. The tip of the
finger has Il much better sense Of