Sentence:  It cannot be denied it [the chameleon] is (if not the moſt of any) a very abſtemious animall, and ſuch as by reaſon of its frigidity, <WSD>paucity</WSD> of bloud, and latitancy in the winter (about which time the obſervations are often made) will long ſubſist without a viſible ſuſtentation. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A smallness in size or amount that is insufficient; meagerness, dearth.