The Washington herald., 1912-11-03
Perfumes and Their
Effect Upon Senses
Lilac Recalls the Long Ago and Lavender Brings
Back Days of Old Lace Poets Raved Oper
the Odors on Cle0pafra's Boat.

patches, its gayety and revelry. Thoss
difIsr, Of course. With individuals: but
surely all perfumes bring back certain
memories and arouse certain emotions u
al Of us! ray
And there u q scientific reason for this.
The olfactory nerve u 70 intimately con-
nscted with the, brain that Dr.. Holmes
stated that 1T II not . nerve At all. but
q part Of the brain, In Intimate connec-
ton with its anterior lobes." This close
aniliation with the thinking substance-
with thought itself-may account for tbs
power 1t exercises over the emotions. and
also for the fact that familiar odcrs stim.
taste or touch.
The Persians and the Egyptians wsrs
certainly aware Of the power and beauty
Of the mcst exquisite perfumes. for va
read that the sails Of Cleopatra's barge
were fragrant as it.
Burnt on the water-the poop was beat
en- gold;
The winds were lovssick with them.'
In Ninevah. Babylon, Greece. and Rome
perfumes were used extenSively. Hippo
crates and Galen both prescribed them
for their patients. Arabia 10 known a
. land Of incense and perfume lovins
Inhabitants. ~ ..0
washes Walls with Rose Water.
The late Queen Victoria 10 said to have
been particularly imprsssed With the
wholesome effects Of cinnamon, and she
took it in some form or other daily. It
Is said that the Sultan Saladin. when
making his triumphal entry into Constan-
tinople in ll57, had the walls Of the Mosque
of Omar washed with rose water. Queen
fumes and had always large number OF
them on hand. -
Tho strange psychological effect Of vari-
Gus perfumes and Of the many kinds OF
incense Is still to be studied and invest.
gated. There IL evidence that the falkirs
and magicians in the East utilise this
means to bewilder the senses Of those be-
holding their feats Of magic. for we SOL
dom hear Of a magician who does not en-
ploy incense for At least some Of his illu-
sions. The necromaneer who causer Gel
lini to behold - troupe Of devils' resorted
to this device. and 20 do the Hindoo
magicians who cause the spectators to
believe that they see various things which
they do not see.
This is subject which deserves to be
carefully worked out some day by skilled
psychologists and psychologists. Mean
while women are quite right In manifest
ing their liking for perfumes. They are
hygienic and wholesome. and 1t would
be q good thing II they were more ex-
tensively employed than they are.
Senses Are Dulled.
The potent effect Of perfume upon the
senses and the mind Ii now being utilised
In surgery. The administering Of the
anaesthetic has been one Of the incidents
OF surgical operations most dreaded by
many persona By the use of . compound
Of ether and elixir Of orange peel 1t u
said that the anaesthetic can be robbed
Of half its terror. The fact that II 10 the
vaporized essence Of orange and Q mere
perfume may produce such an effect upon
the mind Of the patient that partial hy-
nosis will result, and In this condition
the patient will lapse into unconscious
ness without the struggling that usually
attends the administering Of ether.
The mixture IN administered by means
Of a special apparatus having three bot
ties. one holding a two-gram essence Of
orange in two ounces Of water. another .
weak solution Of ether and the third q
strong solution Of IT. The liquids are
vaporized with . foot pump and are dis
charged into a large rubber bag. which
regulates the force Of the now.
This new anaesthetic, which has been
successfully used in several cases. II the
result Of experiments carried on for sew
eral years by an eminent physicians Of
New York In the effort to determine the
availability Of perfumes and odors rs aids
to effectine anaesthetixation. Surely II
the sickening odor Of the ether can be lost
in one OF sweet perfume a great gain will
have been made in diminishing the dread
of surgical ordeals.