The Portland daily press., 1898-01-08

inc-I,e,fect and Partial II bernat on
he Phenomenon of the Lo Effects
OF Heat.
(From the Chicago Tribune.)
Albany, Dec. 20-ssThe phenomenon of
Information. JIM animals, fish, and lep,
tiles" said "a naturalist who has made
the peculiar and little understood phases
Of animal lIfo his particular study, lis
! something that from its very nature and
/ Surroundings cannot be investigated, and
cause. or as to what physiological changes
occur to animals that habitually retire tc
conceded places and lie dormant, or in
! lathargio sleep, for days, weeks. and even
months. 1t is known that in the perfect
hibernators the processes of nature are
interrupted during the period OF. this long
insensibility. Breathing is nearly, and
in some hibernators entirely, suspended,
and the temperature of the blood, even in
the warmer-blooded animals, falls so low
that how life can besmaintained by it is
mystery of mysteries.
IA N6LlOly VI 1tOCAy h1OuAu1lA S5houAia
squirrels, when in perfect Information,
has temperature only three degrees
above freezing point of water, and when
taken from their burrows1in that condi-
| tion these squirrels are as rigid as if they
| were not only dead but frozen. But a
| few minutes in a warm room Twill show
that they are not only alive but full OF
| life. This Interesting fact in natural
history was. first demonstrated by. the late
Andrew Fuller of Ridgewood, N. D., to
| whom a friend in the West sent pair OF
! these squirrels. When the weather be-
ca,ue cold Mr.. Fuller missed his pets one
| day. He supposed they had run away
| from his premises. Nearly month later
he found them by accident, curled up
beneath pile of straw in one corner OF
an enclosure on his place. They were SO
cold and stiff that he supposed they were
| frozen to death. He carried them into
the house to show his wife the fate that
had befallen the poor little rodents in the
harsh Eastern climate. While he and she
were discussing the matter sorroWfully
the squirrels began to.show signs ofsIl1e,
1 and shortly were frisking about the room
aszifsthey ad..not been apparently frozen
/ stiff for weeks. Mr.. Fuller then knew
| the squirrels had boon in a state of h1ber-
nation, and 1t was such an extraordinary
one thatshe put them out of doors again
to let them resume that condition If they
might, SO he might investigate it further.
| They had no sooner got into the cold air
than the lethargio statesbegan to assert it.
self, and Mr. Fuller covered them with
thesstraw. A month later he took 5heir
| temperature and found it to be as nave
stated-only three degrees above the
freezing point of water. Again they
came back to life and activity when
/ placed in the warm room, but after few
| hours showed plainly that, they were being
| bereft of their natural winter sleep. They
| found it as before, and they remained in
that condition until the warm weather
returned in the spring, when they came
| out as clipper as If they hadn't lost a day
or a meal.
| ssAs to the suspension of breathing in
hibenators, the fact is proved sufficiently
| in the instances of the raccoon and the
woodchuck, when they have laid them.
selves up SO comfortably and press theil
noses in such a peculiar position against
| their hinder parts that it would be an alb
solute impossibility FLOR Ethem to draw 6
breath. The popular backwoods belief il
that=the bear rolls itself Sup in this way
and does not breathe, but, while the beal
| is classed Jas a perfect hibernator by
naturalists, it breathes while in It'll
Iethargy. as it's blow holes in the snow
prove-holes melted in the snow beneath
which the animal frequently slows itseli
away, under,aEcoyeringsso leaves. (which
holes frequently betray its presencesto The
woodsIuen.
"The marlnot family produces the
soundest winter sleepers. Whom the
marmot Is in it's peculiar state Of hiber
nation the electric spark will not rouse
| it. The most noxious gases do not atfec
| it in the slightest. If Its temperature il
raised above that at which the anima
hreathed in its natural state it will die
almost Immediately. This is on the 'au
thority of the late Prof Peter A. Browne
| who at one time was connected witt
LAFAYETTE College, and Investigated the
subject of Information and estivation fur
| Their than any other scientist that L know
of. =
northern Germany, is another ANNA
thatshas Its pecuEarities as a ghibernator
Prof. Browne mentions hamster thai
was patfin boz which was closed witt
earth and straw land placed where the
cold was intense; but the hemster die
not show any sign of becoming torpid
The box was then buried in the ground,
and was dug up after some hours, wher
1 The animal Was lOQuo III u otoOO III pAiS
most profound lethargy. And this
ha1nster was kept in a room where there
was no fire. TheFaniInal rolled itself uI
in aicorner, but presently woke up anc
came out 1t was in the best of health
but died in few days-'suffocated
Prof. Browne declared, because it coule
not have confined ARR
"Our own familiar wild animals. tbs
bear, the raccoon, and the woodchuck-
the grounding of colloquial nomenclature
ARE classed as perfect hibernators be
cause they store no food for winter, blu
have acquired thick, fatty secretion be
tween the skin and flesh which, 1t is sup
posed, supplies them with susteDance
As matter of fact, although dorman
/ animals absorb fat, it does not enter int
their digestive organs. The same fat alb
sorption occurs when the animal is dead
If you kill rabbit or any other ANNA
andsleaye the Ientrails in it the fat viii
disappear in o short time. Remove thu
entrails and the fiat will remain. Foot
introduced into the stomach of hiber
mating animal or reptile will De fount
undigested at allgstages of its lethargy
I say introduced into the stomach be
cause it could get into the stomach o
such creature only by force or artificial
means, for alternating animal invarla
bly goes into it's peculiar state on al