DORMOUSE DORSETSHIRE. 



713 



renheit, the number of pulsations of the heart is dimi- 

 nished from thirty to twelve in a minute. If, in this 

 state, food is put into the stomach by force, it re- 

 mains undigested for a long time. Frogs, serpents, 

 and lizards, kept in artificial cold, may remain for 

 years in this state ; hence they have, been sometimes 

 found enclosed in stones, in which they have been, 

 perhaps, for centuries. The other lower animals, as 

 snails, insects, &c., are also subject to a similar tor- 

 pidity. A state of partial torpor takes place in the 

 case of the common bear and the raccoon. The bear 

 begins to be drowsy in November, when he is parti- 

 cularly fat, and -retires into his den, which he has 

 lined with moss, and where he but rarely awakes in 

 winter. When he does awake, he is accustomed to 

 lick his paws, which are without hair, and full of 

 small glands ; hence the belief that he draws his 

 nourishment only from them. The badger also sleeps 

 the greater part of 'the winter. 



DORMOUSE (myoxus, Gm. Cuv.) ; a genus of 

 mammiferous -quadrupeds, of the order glires (L.). 

 These little animals, which appear to be intermediate 

 between the squirrels and the mice, inhabit temperate 

 and warm countries, and subsist entirely on vegeta- 

 ble food. They have not the activity and sprightlhiess 

 of the squirrel, but, like that animal, can ascend trees 

 in search of their food, which they carefully store up 

 for their whiter consumption. This, however, is not 

 great, as, during the rigour of winter, they retire to 

 their retreats, and, rolling themselves up, fell into a 

 torpid or lethargic state, which lasts, with little in- 

 terruption, throughout that gloomy season. 



Tota mihi dormitur hyenas, et pinguior illo 

 Tempore sum, quo me nil nisi somnus alit. 



Mart. Lib. xiii. Ep. 39. 



Sometimes they experience a short revival, in a 

 warm, sunny day, when they take a little food, and 

 then relapse into their former condition. During this 

 torpidity, their natural heat is considerably dimin- 

 ished. They make their nests. of grass, moss, and 

 dried leaves, about six inches hi diameter, and open 

 only from above. The number of young is generally 

 three or four. Their pace is a kind of leap, in which, 

 it is said, they are assisted by their tails. Like the 

 jerboa, whilst feeding, they sit upright, and carry the 

 food to their mouth with their paws. When they are 

 thirsty, they do not lap, like most other quadrupeds, 

 but dip their fore->feet, with the toes bent, into the 

 water, and thus carry it to their mouths. They are 

 distinguished from all the rest of the gnawers, by the 

 want of the caecum, and large intestines. They 

 were esteemed a great delicacy by the Romans, who 

 had their gliraria, or places in which they were kept 

 and fattened for the table. 



DORNOCH, is the name of two parishes in Scot- 

 land ; the one in Dumfries-shire, two and a half miles 

 square, with a population of 752 inhabitants ; the 

 other in Sutherlandshire, fifteen miles in length, and 

 about nine in breadth, with a population of 3380 

 inhabitants. The burgh of Dornoch, in Sutherland- 

 shire, is a place of considerable antiquity, and was 

 formerly the seat of the bishops of Caithness. It is 

 211 miles N. of Edinburgh. 



DORNOCH FIRTH, an arm of the sea, on the 

 east coast of the Highlands of Scotland, which par- 

 tially divides Ross-shire from Sutherlandshire. It is 

 about twelve miles broad at its mouth, but gradually 

 narrows till it reaches the town of Dornoch, where its 

 breadth amounts to about two miles. Above this 

 point, it becomes broader. On the south side, it 

 juts a little into Ross-shire, and this indentation is 

 called the Bay of Tain. There are several ferries 

 across the Firth. 



DORPAT, DORPT (in Esthonian, Tart-Lin) ; a 

 city on the Embach, formerly an important commer- 



j cial place, at present the chief town of the 

 ! government of Riga (764 houses and 8450 inhabi- 

 ' tants), about 175 miles S. W. of St Petersburg ; 

 lat. 58 23' N. ; Ion. 26 46' 15" E. The transit 

 trade of Dorpat, in products of the interior, is still 

 considerable, and will be increased when the Alex- 

 ander canal is finished. The emperor Alexander 

 established here, in 1802, a university for Finland, 

 Esthonia, Livonia, and Courland. The students (about 

 400) wear a uniform, and after finishing their studies, 

 have the rank of'a commissioned officer. The library 

 contains 40,000 volumes. There are, besides, many i 

 scientific institutions. Dorpat is situated on the road 

 from Petersburg to Germany. Its environs are 

 agreeable and fertile. 



DORSETSHIRE, a southern county of England, 

 bounded by the English channel, and the counties ot 

 Hants, Wilts, Somerset, and Devon. Its extent, from 

 east to west, is about fifty-five miles, and from north 

 to south about thirty-five. The general outline of 

 this county is very irregular, its long northern side 

 having a large angular projection near the centre, 

 and the southern shores being indented with bays, or 

 stretching out into points and headlands, including 

 that remarkable peninsula called the Isle of Portland. 

 From the mild temperature of its atmosphere, and 

 the fertility of the soil, Dorsetshire has been termed 

 the garden of England. The northern division, 

 generally level, was at a former period covered with 

 wood, but now consists chiefly of rich arable and pas- 

 ture land. Through the central parts of the county 

 extends a lofty ridge of chalk hills, declining on the 

 southern side into downs and valleys, which afford 

 excellent pasture for sheep. The chalk forms a por- 

 tion of the great bed of chalk, which may be traced 

 across the island from its eastern border, and here 

 terminates. From the,confines of Hampshire to the 

 centre of the county, along the coast, extends a 

 tract of heathy waste, but its comparative infertility 

 is counterbalanced by the luxuriant beauty of the 

 south-western vales. 



Not less than forty rivers and brooks water Dorset- 

 shire; the principal of these are the Stour, the Frome, 

 the Ivel or Yeo, the Piddle, the Char, and the Wey. 

 No part of it is very elevated; the highest spots, such 

 as Swyer hill and South Barrow Down, being only 

 669 and 625 feet above the level of the sea. The 

 dairies afford a large quantity of excellent butter for 

 the London market. Great attention is also paid to 

 the breeding of sheep. Among the various articles 

 of importance to the inhabitants may be reckoned the 

 cultivation of hemp. In Beaminster and Bridport, 

 particularly in the neighbourhood of the latter, a 

 great number of persons are employed in the manu- 

 facture ot all sorts of twine, netting, cordage, sack- 

 ing, and sail-cloth. Many women and young girls 

 weave sail-cloth, and make nets for the Newfoundland 

 fishery. A considerable quantity of coarse woollen 

 cloth, called swan-skin, or swandown, is also made. 



The principal minerals of Dorsetshire are two kinds 

 of freestone, greatly used in building and paving, 

 which are quarried in the isles of Portland and Pur- 

 beck. Large quantities of Potters' clay are sent to 

 Liverpool, London, and Bristol. Mineral waters 

 occur in several places. Some coal of inferior quality 

 is found, the use of which is confined to the poorer 

 classes. Iron is found mixed with gravel and sand ; 

 petrified shells are numerous ; and there are fine am- 

 monites, some of which seem transparent, and are 

 nearly three feet in diameter. The coast abounds 

 with variety offish, particularly mackerel, the fishing 

 of which is carried on between Portland and Lyme 

 from April to June. Most of the foreign commerce 

 is carried on at Poole. The chief exports are stone, 

 sheep, provisions, and manufactured goods ; the im- 



