AND ANIMAL LIFE. 161 



CHAP. VII. 



On the Torpidity of Hibernating Animals. 



CLXXVIII. THE subject of torpidity has oc- 

 cupied, like that of the preceding chapter, the ta- 

 lents of the physiologist and naturalist, and, like 

 the same, is enveloped in much mystery. The 

 greatness of an effect too often blinds the mind 

 in attempting to ascertain its cause, by mingling 

 in the enquiry a degree of wonder or admiration ; 

 and I am disposed to think that the subject of 

 torpidity has been investigated by some with a 

 feeling of this kind. The regularity with which 

 animals have retired to their convenient resorts, 

 the duration of their repose, and the comparative 

 vigour with which they have returned to active 

 life, are certainly occurrences that cannot be re- 

 garded, by the reflecting mind, without a de- 

 gree of wonder and admiration. 



It is not my intention to give a complete his- 

 tory of the different opinions which have been 

 expressed on this subject, nor to treat it so fully 

 as the reader will find it discussed in Dr FLE- 

 MING'S excellent work on Zoology. * I am anx- 

 ious to examine a few of its most interesting and 



* Vol. ii. page 45. 



