Description

Human memory has certain
strengths, and one is the ability to
recall the source of any odour, even after
several decades. What exiled farm
inhabitant could not identify the smell
of newly turned earth, white clover, or
horse manure? Still, a century ago,
Prince Edward Island residents may
have experienced a purer recall of the
sweeter scents, for their brains were not
yet cluttered with the memory of the
malodorous skunk. Today no Islander
can deny the familiar skunk odour. But
in 1890, when naturalist Francis Bain
lived and breathed pure air, he, like
earlier authors who described our
mammals, omitted the skunk with a
clear conscience and an unsullied
cerebrum.