The passage of air into the mouth and over the tongue tends to produce dryness of the latter organ, and consequently excessive thirst. The abnormal exposure of the parts to the unwarmed air produces a tendency to nasal catarrh which is very decided; and, in fact, it is very common to find a condition of chronic granular pharyngitis present, associated with adenoid vegetations and chronic enlargement of the tonsils. Patches or crusts of dried mucus may be observed clinging to the mucous membrane, and these have occasionally been mistaken for sloughs. From these arises a peculiar odour, which, however, cannot be quite accurately described as fœtor. The falling of mucus into the mouth is another unpleasant result, and the loss of the faculty of smell is in some cases most distinct. The sense of taste is very defective in all severe cases, from the fact that the tongue cannot be applied to the palatal surface in such a way as to bring the food successively in contact with the organs of taste; moreover, as is well known, the senses of smell and taste are closely correlated, and where smell is absent, taste is deficient. This was very well illustrated in one of my cases, where the operation for closure of a complete cleft was not undertaken until the girl was twenty-five years of age; it was entirely successful, and she told me subsequently that the ability to appreciate the tastes of different foods in a way of which she had no idea previously was not one of the least of the advantages derived from the operation. CHAPTER V. OPERATIVE TREATMENT OF HARELIP. _Period of operation—Statistics—Precautions to be adopted._ _Operation for single harelip: incisions; sutures; dressing; after-treatment—Various plans adopted._ _Operation for double harelip: treatment of os incisivum—extirpation or reposition; treatment of soft parts._ In discussing the period in the infant’s life when a harelip should be operated on, it may be laid down as a general rule that the sooner an operation is performed for the repair of the abnormal condition _per se_ the better; but other coexistent conditions have to be taken into consideration, such as the amount of vitality, the degree of deformity, and its association or not with cleft palate; and these may lead us to postpone the operation.