Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XV.djvu/610

 582 TASTE various compound savors, like those of cooked meats, vegetables, and fruit. But other phys- ical qualities are often mingled with these, which are of a different character, and are per- ceived by the general sensibility of the mucous membrane, here developed to an unusual de- gree. Thus, what is called a viscid, watery, or oleaginous taste is simply a certain modification in consistency of the substance under examina- tion. An oil may have a well marked taste ; but this is in consequence of its partial ran- cidity, or of its containing other impurities or sapid ingredients. An oil which is perfectly pure and fresh is almost or entirely destitute of taste, and conveys to the mucous membrane of the mouth only the sense of its oleaginous consistency. Other substances have an irri- tating or pungent quality, like alcohol, red pepper, and mustard ; and this pungency is also perceived by the general sensibility of the mucous membrane. Most of the condiments in ordinary use produce their effect principally by means of their pungency, mingled with a small proportion of true sapid qualities. Many articles of food also have their taste modified or heightened by the presence of volatile in- gredients perceived by the sense of smell ; and this mixture of sapid and odoriferous qualities gives to the substances in question the prop- erties which we know as their flavors. In this way are produced the flavors of wines, of tea and coffee, of cooked meats, &c. How much of the effect produced by these substances upon the senses is due to their odoriferous qualities, may be ascertained by holding the nose while swallowing them, so as to prevent the passage of air through the nasal passages. An essen- tial condition of the sense of taste is, that the sapid substance should be in a state of solution. In the solid form a substance even of well marked sapid quality, like crystallized sugar, produces no effect upon the taste, and is per- ceived when applied to the tongue only as the physical contact of a foreign body. It is only when it is presented in the liquid form, or is gradually dissolved in the fluids of the mouth, that it impresses the nerves of taste, and its sapid qualities are accordingly perceived. This is probably because sapid substances excite the sense of taste only by being actually absorbed by the mucous membrane, and thus coming in contact with the extremities of the gustatory nerves. This absorption requires time for its accomplishment, and especially requires that the substance, to be taken up by the mucous membrane, should be in a proper condition of fluidity. It is also on this account that a free secretion of saliva is so essential an aid to the sense of taste. When the internal surface of the mouth is in a dry condition, the savor of the food is imperfectly perceived. The sali- vary fluids, being themselves partly composed of organic materials, are especially adapted for rapid absorption, and, as they penetrate the mass of the food undergoing mastication, they become impregnated with its sapid ingre- i TATIAN dients, and cause them to penetrate readily the substance of the mucous membrane. The sense of taste is also materially aided by the movements in mastication, and particularly by those of the tongue ; since a combination of movement and pressure is always favorable to the absorption of fluids by the animal mem- branes. The full effect of sapid substances is not obtained until the moment of actual deglu- tition. It is only after mastication is com- plete, and the food is actually in the involun- tary grasp of the fauces and pharynx, to be swallowed into the stomach, that all parts of the gustatory mucous membrane are brought in contact with it at once, and their sensibil- ity heightened by the simultaneous contrac- tion of the muscles of deglutition. TATE, a N. W. county of Mississippi, formed in 1873 from De Soto and Marshall counties ; area, 406 sq. m. ; pop. about 12,000. It is drained by Coldwater river, and traversed by the Mississippi and Tennessee railroad. The surface is undulating, and the soil fertile. The chief crops are wheat, Indian corn, sweet potatoes, and cotton. Capital, Senatobia. TATE, JVahnm, an English poet, born in Dub- lin in 1652, died in Southwark, Aug. 12, 1715. He went to London, succeeded Shadwell in 1692 as poet laureate, and died in the pre- cincts of the mint, a privileged place for debt- ors. He was associated with Dryden in the authorship of "Absalom and Achitophel," the second part of which is mostly his composi- tion. He wrote "Memorials for the Learned, collected out of eminent Authors in Histo- ry " (1686) ; " Miscellanea Sacra, or Poems on Divine and Moral Subjects " (1698) ; and "Panacea, a Poem on Tea" (1700). He also produced an alteration of "King Lear" from Shakespeare, which long held the stage to the exclusion of the original. But he is chiefly re- membered by his version of the Psalms, made in conjunction with Brady, which is still re- tained in the " Book of Common Prayer." It was first published under the title of an " Es- say of a New Version of the Psalms of David, consisting of the first Twenty, by N. Brady and N. Tate " (8vo, 1695). This was succeed- ed by " The Book of Psalms, a New Version in Metre, fitted to the Tunes used in the Church- es, by N. Tate and N. Brady " (1696), and a "Supplement of Church Hymns" (1700). TATIAN (TATIANUS), an ecclesiastical writer of the 2d century, the time and place of whose birth and death are uncertain, though he calls himself an Assyrian. He had received the education of a Greek, and been a teacher in the pagan schools before he went to Rome, where he practised as a teacher of eloquence, became the associate of Justin Martyr, and was converted to Christianity. After the death of Justin (about 165), he seems to have returned to the East, and adopted views resembling those of the Gnostic Marcion on the dual principle of good and evil, and on the essential depravity of matter. He became the founder