zSz] ODO the morals and on the disposition of the mind 5 hence Rousseau justly terms it " the sense of ima- gination." ViREY, a modern French writer, has devoted a par- ticular treatise to the inquiry into the great effect of tliis sense, on the passion of lovej and, in an- other paper, he examines the odours exhaled by living animals. — The celebrated Monk of Prague, was a remarkable instance of having pre- served all the vigour and natural extent of his sense of smelling in the midst of society : thus, it is said, he could not only distinguish every person, but even ascertain the re.-.pe(5tive purity of female manners ; and it is much to be re- gretted, that death prevented him from finishing a Treatise on Odours. Having already, on different oc- casions, stated the etfci^ts of strong- ly odoriferous substances on the human body, v/e shall in this place communicate an ot>servation which may, perhaps, at some future pe- riod, be applied to very usetul pur- poses in the healing art. M. Pre- vosT, an ingenious Frenchman, has lately discovered a inethod of rendering the exhalations of odorous ladies visible. This remarkable phenomenon was re-produced' be- fore the jSIational Institute at Paris, by various experiments, that are equally simple and striking. — A few drops of water are to be dis- tributed at equal distances from each other, on the surface of a glazed plate, or looking glass. — • Next, the odoVous substance, for instance, a piece of camphor, is placed in the middle : aniong other efttcts, the water immediately re- treats to a considerable distance, in a circle, from the exhaling body, so that the intermediate space be- comes perfectly dry. In propor- OIL tion to the strength of the smell/ this interval will be more or less considerable, and thus serve as 3 measure or scale for ascertaining the intensity of the odour. Oesophagus. See Gullet. OIL, an inflammable, unctuous fluid, drawn from various natural bodies, belonging either to the mi- neral, animal, or vegetable king- doms of Nature. I. Mineral oil is that fluicj denominated petroleum, or naphtha, of which we have already treated, under the article Bitumens. II, Animal oils are obtained by distillation from the fat of ani- mals, togetlier v.-ith their volatile salts. They may also be procured from certain animal matters, by boiling and expression. Such are the train and spermaceti oils ex- tratled from whales, porpoises, and other lish. This class of oils is chiefly con- sumed in lamps} and, as they are apt to become rancid, various means have been devised to edul- corate, or restore tliem to tlieir na- tural state. Among the most easy ex[)edients, are those contrived by Mr. Dossie, and published some years since by the Society for the Encouragement of Arts : they de- serve to be more generally known: 1. Let one ounce of chalk, finely pulverized, and half an ounce of lime, slacked by exposure to the air, be put into a gallon of fetid oil ; after which they must be care- fully stirred, and half a pint of wa- ter gradually mixed. The stirring is to be repeated after an hour has elapsed, and at other convenient intervals, for two or three succes- sive days. At the end of that time, a p.nt and a half of water, in which an ounce of salt has been previ- ously dissolved, is to be incorpo- rated
