Evening star., 1953-04-29
Some Noses Can Smell
About Is Million Odors
Euch NostriI Has Network
SimiIur to q Switchboard
BY Thomas R. Henry


SimiIur to q Switchboard
By Thomas R. Henry
The human nose is equipped to dis
tinguish about 16 million different
odors.
This is the conclusion of DR.. Ray
mond M. Hainer and his associates Of
the Arthur D. Little Co. of Cambridge,
Mass, resulting from study Of the
odors Of cosmetics.
Smelling, they found, is an extraor-
dinarily complicated process involving
nose and brain.
In each nostril there is an area about
half the size Of dime in which there
are approximately 1900 nerve centers
known as "glomeruli." From each
glomerulus, which might be compared
to telephone exchange. "a nerve f1bers
run to the brain.
Different odors excite different nerve
f1bers in each area of this sort. Thus
there are all possible combinations Of
almost $4,000 nerve fbers carrying spe-
cial messages.
Compared With Lights.
DR.. Hainer and his associates compare
these bundles Of "A neurons to a board
with "a lights. BY turning on some
Of the lights recognizable picture can
be formed. Similarly, when q man
smells chloroform. for example, certain
OF the "a neurons light up to form
code for this odor and nothing else.
The kind Of odor Disseminated depends
on the pattern, but its strength depends
on how many of the 1900 bundles react
to the choloroform. This depends on
the amount Of choloroform in the air.
It is possible for well-trained noses
to discriminate from IS to 30 levels
of intensity for each of the is million
different odors, the investigators con-
cluded.
These figures, they point out, rep
resent only potentialities. Man. in
general, is q poor smeller compared,
for example, to q dog. This is largely
because he is under no stress to use
his smelling capacity to its full extent.
Forests Of the Fiji Islands are fur
niShing clues to an ancient South
Pacific continent.
They now are being explored for
hitherto undiscovered plant species by
DR.. A. c. Smith, Smithsonian Institu-
ton botanist, who already has made
two collecting trips in this little-known
part Of the world.
Scientific Importance.
Fiji plants have q peculiar scientific
Importance as indicators of ancient
land connections. DR.. Smith says. The
archipelago consists of about 200
islands, mostly densely forested and
with volcanic mountains reaching to
attitudes of nearly a mile. The plant
life indicates, DR.. Smith says, that the
archipelago represents the eastern
edge of single great land mass that
at one time may have included much
Of Australia, New Guinea and the
Solomon Islands. Apparently the
vegetation moved eastward across this
continent from some focus. for it gets
sparser, so far as variety Of species is
concerned, as one moves In this direc-
ton.
Many Of the Fiji plants show rela-
tionships with those of New Guinea
and the Solomons. which can be ex-
planned only by direct contact. They
hardly COULD have moved over any
great stretch Of water.
Among DR.. Smiths discoveries on
previous expeditions is hitherto
unknown genus Of forest trees.
degeneria. This is primitive member
of the magnolia family. It is tall.
hardwood tree with large white bios
SONS which previously had escaped
notice because 1t grows only in jungle
depths. It is related closely to trees In
Northern Australia, New Guinea and
the Solomons. Another new species
found by DR.. Smith, close relatives Of
which are known only in Sumatra, Is
q forest tree which grows to heights
Of 100 feet and bears inconspicuous
greenish blossoms.
Many smaller islands of the archi-
pelago still have not been visited by
botanists, and all sorts of hitherto
unknown types Of plants may be found.