ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY, &C. 261 



Heat of the Human Body. 



The heat of the human body is 96* or 97 of 

 Fahrenheit ; yet Sir Joseph Banks and Sir Charles 

 Blagden actually breathed an atmosphere 52 higher 

 than boiling water, viz. 264. In this heat eggs 

 were roasted in 20 minutes, and a beef-steak in 33 

 minutes was overdone. 



The heat of metals at 120 is scarcely supportable, 

 and water scalds at 150; but air may be heated to 

 140, without being painful to the organs of sensa- 

 tion. 



Cold of the Human Body. 



It is evident that the human frame is capable of 

 supporting a more intense, degree of cold than had 

 been supposed possible before the publication of 

 Captain Franklin's journey. During that expedition, 

 it occurred that the individuals composing it were 

 obliged to sleep in the woods, under the canopy of 

 heaven, with no other covering at night than a blanket 

 and deer-skin, with the thermometer frequently at 

 minus 40, once minus 57 below zero, (89 degrees 

 below the freezing point,) while their bodies were 

 greatly debilitated by the want of food (once for three 

 days,) and their legs and feet were swelled and la- 

 cerated by snow-shoes. 



Spontaneous Combustion. 



There are instances of the spontaneous combus- 

 tion of the human body by the rapid absorption of 

 oxygen, so that the whole became silently reduced 

 to ashes, independent of any external agent to which 

 the commencement of the combustion could be attri- 

 buted. These instances have always occurred to 

 females addicted to spirituous liquors. 



