The New Student's Reference Work/Taste

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Taste, the sense by which such properties of substance as sweet, sour, bitter, salt etc. are distinguished. The principal organ of taste is the tongue, especially its sides, base and tip. The soft palate and the arches of the palate also have the sense of taste. The sense of taste is weakened by any great change in temperature, either of heat or cold, as after holding the tongue in ice-water or in very hot water the taste of sugar will not be noticed. It is necessary that bodies to be tasted should be dissolved, so as to come in contact with the nerves of taste. Any substance which will not dissolve in the fluids of the mouth will be found to be tasteless, and only recognized by the sense of touch in the tongue. Bitters and acids excite sensations of taste in the most diluted forms. One part of quinine in 1,000,000 parts of water can be easily distinguished from pure water. The sense of smell (q. v.) is affected by most substances as well as the sense of taste, and taste and smell together form what is called the flavor. The great use of the sense of taste is to direct in the choice of food, and in the lower animals it is even a surer guide than in man. Usually articles that are agreeable to the taste are desirable for food.