Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1886-01-28
HIBERNAT[ON.
a PHENOMENON PECULIAR TO
SOME ANIMALS.
Ahey Live When it is Warm, and
Eerely Exist in Lethargic State
When it Gets CoId-A Gu
rious Condition.

The phenomenon Of Information, Of
winter sleep, peculiar to some animals, is
very curious indeed It is not well un-
derstood. Some declare it to be a sort
of eatalepsy; others say it is a trance. As
It is physiological event and cannot be
well investigated, the changes which
occur must remain somewhat Of a mys-
terry.
| That certain animals retire to a con
cealed place and remain dormant, or in
state of lethargy, for days, weeks Of
months together, we know. That dur
ing this time they take no food, void no
excretions and lose a great amount Of
animal heat we also know. But Just
how life is maintained, no one can say.
A number of alternating animals ac-
quire great amount of fat, usually just
under the skin, and during the dormant
period this is consumed and they come
out in the spring very lean; but in the
case Of serpents, frogs and bats no such
accumulations have been noticed. In
order that certain amount of heat
may be maintained, and as they are
generally easily aroused, it is their
habit to conceal themselves in warm
places, or congregate in some secluded
quarter. Bears, hedgehogs, woodchucks
Rnd such animals 60 into holes and curl
np nearly into ball, with the head and
feeton the inside. Snakes twist to-
getAer in numbers in some rocky hole to
keep warm. Frogs and toads sink into
the mud, as do also alligators, crocodiles
Andother lizards. Shell fish dig down
into the soft bottoms of streams or lakes,
| and insects, which survive the winter, lie
in the ground or some protected Granny.
Those who explain the phenomenon at
tribute it to the effect Of the cold, the
absence Of suitable food and the gradual
showing of the respirations. In those
that are perfect hipernators the instinct
storing food for winter is entirely want
ing They betake themselves to some
warm place and begin by falling asleep.
Sleep is very similar phenomenon, diff
fering only in degree. Human beings
who are frozen to death first sleep, then
get into condition very like Information,
1 which, when carried further, causes
death. 1t is so with une fUuvr or,ii..aola.
and many succumb to great cold. In
sleep the respiration is slower, and as a
consequence the temperature falls, 50
that clothing is necessary at night which
would be too warm during waking hours.
| Breathing has direct effect upon what
is known as muscular irritability, or the
power of muscle to respond to impress
sions. The heart beats because it is ex-
cited to contract by the blood flowing
INTO it. That this contraction is de-
pendent upon the number of respirations
I is shown by comparisons. In birds the
breathing is fast and the irritability Of
The heart great; beating normally from
1870 to 140 minute, and the heat Of the
'ody is considerably over 100 degrees.
Descending the scale we find lizards
breathe slowly, their hearts beat slowly
and their temperature is very low.
Thus it is in Information, the breath
I ing becomes less and less until in some it
is nearly or entirely suspended the heart
,eats decline and the temperature falls,
until, even in warm -blooded animals, ii
reaches as low as thirty-ive degrees,
which is only three degrees above the
freezing point of water.
Suicides sometimes take their lives by
placing an open charcoal fire in the room
and inbaling the carbonic acid gas which
it gives off. Death ensues from the gas
poisoning the blood. Breathing accom-
plishes the same end for the body that
heat does for charcoal. It carries away
this pernicious gas from the blood, but
the slow action of the lungs during hi
bernation allows this to remain and in
duces lethargy, or anesthesia, at which
time were it not for the increased irritabil-
ity Of the heart death would ensue.
There are two classes of hibernators
/ Those perfectly letharric through the
Y winter, and those which wake at FIRE.
quent intervals. The best example Of
perfect sleep in this country is ssen il
the bats. At the beginning Of cold
weather they huddle together in bundles,
fall into comatose condition and dc
not stir until warm weather comes
again. An old hollow tree, or, best Of
all, acave, lords protection for them.
Bats have a little hook at one Of the
joints Of the wing, by which they hang
suspended in the air when sleeping, and
during Information great numbers CROWD
together clinging to each other, tn,
weight Of all being borne by the centra
one. It is stated that as many as fifty o.
sixty have been seen in one bunch, The
weight of which would aggregate abou
fifteen pounds While the central ba
sleeps as if in feather bed, itwoulc
seem like frightful weight to sustain OF
his thumb-nail The statement il
vouched for, however, by one who ma,
be believed The same author, in speak
ing of the amount of cold which bat
can stand, said that in this large buncE
the wings Of the outside bats were Sc
frozen and brittle as to break like ice O
candy Some Of these, although *
badly frozen, were soon brought to lifl
BY the application Of warmth.
Our squirrels, opossums and woot