Page:Dan McKenzie - Aromatics and the Soul.pdf/55

 OLFACTORY MEMORY

predominant special senses in man are vision and hearing, olfaction occupying a quite unimportant position in the scale,

Smell and taste, by the way, are usually regarded not only as allied senses, but also as if they were akin in their nature and function, Allied they are, undoubtedly, seeing that both subserve the function of food-perception. But the resemblance ends there, For, of the two, smell is at once the more delicate and the more extensive in capacity, and, as they differ widely in their anatomical structure, there can be no doubt but that in physiological action also they are dissimilar.

The taste-bulbs are capable of appreciating four sensations only, and these quite simple, while the capacity of the olfactory organ, as we shall see more fully later on, is practically unlimited. All the subtlety of “taste,” all that we call “flavour,” is an olfactory sensation. Thus, people devoid of the sense of smell cannot discern the finer savours. They would be unable to distinguish, say, a vanilla from a strawberry ice. Rh