37. The tastes of men present the most singular diversities, partly the result of necessity and partly of habit or education. The Esquimaux like the rank smell of whale oil, which is a kind of food admirably suited to the requirements of their icy climate; and travellers who go from our climate to theirs are not slow to develop a liking for the same articles that the natives themselves enjoy. The sense of taste is rendered very acute by education, as is shown in an especial manner by those who become professional "tasters" of tea and wine. [Sidenote: 38. Location of the sense of smell? The nose? "Roof of the mouth?"] 38. THE SENSE OF SMELL--THE NASAL CAVITIES.--The sense of smell is located in the delicate mucous membrane which lines the interior of the nose. That prominent feature of the face, the nose, which is merely the front boundary of the true nasal organ, is composed partly of bone and partly of cartilage. The upper part of it is united with the skull by means of a few small bones; to which circumstance is due its permanence of shape. The lower portion, or tip of the nose, contains several thin pieces of cartilage, which render it flexible and better able to resist the effects of blows and pressure. Behind the nose we find quite a spacious chamber, separated from the mouth by the hard palate, forming the "roof of the mouth," and by the soft palate (see Fig. 46); and divided into two cavities by a central partition running from before backward. [Sidenote: 39. Cavities of the nose? Obstruction of the passage of air through them?] 39. These nasal cavities, constituting the true beginning of the air-passages, extend from the nose backward to the {193} upper opening of the throat, and rise as high as the junction of the nose with the forehead. The inner wall of each cavity is straight and smooth; but from the outer wall there jut into each cavity three small scroll-like bones. The structure of these bones is very light, and hence they have been called the "spongy" bones of the nose. In this manner, while the extent of surface is greatly increased by the formation of these winding passages, the cavities are rendered extremely narrow; so much so, in fact, that a moderate swelling of the mucous membrane which lines them, as from a cold, is sufficient to obstruct the passage of air through them. [Illustration: FIG. 46.--SECTION OF THE RIGHT NASAL CAVITY.] [Sidenote: 40. The special nerve of smell? Its location?]