Among the many startling disclosures with which scientific
investigation has made us familiar, one of the most extravagant
is the discovery according to which the nose is said to be
gradually losing its power to discharge its traditional function
in the case of the civilized peoples. When the sense of smell
vanishes altogether--as, it is affirmed, will infallibly be the
case one day--the organ itself is bound to follow its example
sooner or later. It is, no doubt, a fact that the olfactory
sense is much keener in the savage than in the civilized man,
and it is reasonable to conclude that the more we progress in
civilization the duller the sense will grow, and as nature never
preserves useless organs, when the nose loses its power of
smelling the nose “must go.”--London _Iron_.
(757)
=Determination=--See ABILITY, GAGE OF.
=Determining Factor Unknown=--See MYSTERY OF NATURE.