PECULIAR SECRETIONS. 381 



body, in one instance, sunk rapidly from 98 to 87, when 

 placed in water at 44, but at the end of twelve minutes it 

 rose to 93 J. In another experiment, in water of the same 

 temperature, the heat of the body fell from 98, in the 

 course of two minutes to 88, but, at the end of thirteen mi- 

 nutes, it had risen to 96. Dr HUNTER found that a dor- 

 mouse, whose heat, in an atmosphere at 64, was 81*, 

 when put into air at 20, had its temperature raised in 

 the course of half an hour to 93 : an hour after, the air 

 being 30, it was still 93 : at another hour after, the air 

 being 19, the heat of the pelvis was as low as 83, but 

 the animal was now less lively. In this experiment, the 

 dormouse had maintained its temperature about seventy 

 degrees higher than the surrounding medium, and for the 

 space of two hours and a half. 



In the cold-blooded animals, heat is generated under si- 

 milar circumstances. HUNTER found that the heat of a 

 viper, placed in a vessel at 10, was reduced in ten minutes 

 to 37, in other ten minutes, the vessel being 13 to 35, 

 and in the next ten minutes, the vessel at 20 to 81. In 

 frogs, he was able to lower the temperature likewise to 

 31 , but beyond this point it was not possible to lessen the 

 heat, without destroying the animal. 



When the cooling cause is applied to particular parts of 

 the body, the heat of these parts sinks lower than the mini- 

 mum of depressed temperature of the body. Although 

 HUNTER was unable to heat the urethra one degree above 

 the maximum of the elevated temperature of the body, yet 

 he succeeded in cooling it twenty-nine degrees lower than 

 the minimum of depressed temperature, viz. to 58, He 

 succeeded in cooling down the ears of rabbits until they 

 froze, and when thawed, they recovered their natural heat 

 and circulation. The same experiment was performed on 

 the comb and wattles of a cock. Though he found that, 



