in Fluids. 263 



As liquid water is the vehicle of Heat and nourish- 

 ment, and consequently of life, in every living thing ; 

 and as water, left to itself, freezes, with a degree of cold 

 much less than that which frequently prevails in cold 

 climates, it is agreeable to the ideas we have of the wis- 

 dom of the Creator of the world to expect that effectual 

 measures would be taken to preserve a sufficient quantity 

 of that liquid in its fluid state to maintain life during 

 the cold season : and this we find has actually been done ; 

 for both plants and animals are found to survive the 

 longest and most severe winters ; but the means which 

 have been employed to produce this miraculous effect 

 have not been investigated, at least not in as far as 

 they relate to vegetables. 



But as animal and vegetable bodies are essentially dif- 

 ferent in many respects, it is very natural to suppose 

 that the means would be different which are employed to 

 preserve them against the fatal effects which would be 

 produced in each by the congelation of their fluids. 



Among organized bodies which live on the surface of 

 the earth, and which, of course, are exposed to the vicissi- 

 tudes of the seasons, we find that as the proportion of 

 fluids to solids is greater, the greater is the Heat which 

 is required for the support of life and health, and the 

 less are they able to endure any considerable change of 

 their temperature. 



The proportion of Fluids to Solids is much greater in 

 animals than in vegetables ; and in order to preserve in 

 them the great quantity of Heat which is necessary to 

 the preservation of life, they are furnished with lungs, 

 and are warmed by a process similar to that by which 

 Heat is generated in the combustion of inflammable 

 bodies. 



