HYBERNATION. 



395 



whid> 



>; vr *. 



( MM. 



the winter season, while they are found congregated to 

 breed in but few places. The turnstone is migratory 

 in England, but stationary in the northern islands of 

 Scotland. The same remark is applicable to the hood- 

 ed crow, a few of which pass from us during the win- 

 ter months into England, but return during the breed- 

 None of these CSSJSBS, taken singly, may be able to 

 account for the migrations of the feathered race ; but, 

 when viewed in connection, they seem to include all 

 those proximate causes which operate in the produc- 

 tion of these curious, and to us in some respects use- 

 ful voyages. These migration ? extend our knowledge 

 of birds, by making us acquainted with the produc- 

 tions of the shores of Greenland, the mountains of 

 Norway, and the marshes of Ijpland They also con- 

 tribute to enliven the scenes of winter, and occasionally 

 add to the delicacies of our table ; while, in their move- 

 we discern the marks of benevolence in preser- 

 their existence, increasing their happiness, and 



1" k ' *' I 



cannot dismiss this subject of migration without 

 it to the attentive consideration of our 



Aninta's 

 which 

 hectare 

 Torpid. 



To those who pass their time in the sweets of 

 in the country, it will prove a never-failing 

 and to a reflecting mind, will 

 . The field 



yield no small portion of delight. 

 is extensive, the subject 



ofobser. 

 Quis non cum 



ereirrinaiitium 



aviuin, in itinerc, turmatim volantium, per longos ter- 

 raruin et maris tractui ahsque sen manna. Quis eaa 

 certum itcr in a*ris muubili regione docuit i Quis 

 putetiue sign*, et futurar vise indicia Quis eaa du- 

 cet, nutrit, et viue necewaria sninistrat ? Quis imams 

 et hospitia ilia, in quibus victum reperiat, indicavit, 

 modnmque eiusmodi loot in peregrinationibas sais in- 



durtri.m, qui non nisi longis inpssinsliis, mnhi* Hine- 

 rariis, chartis geographicis et acus magni 

 et terrarum 



manum 

 taotant, et aodent.- 



Aswe 



pow.rs oftl.rv 

 to 



in the scale of being, the iinlMisjs. of 

 bmmiab in number. The locomotive 

 * too limited to enable them 



be protected from the cold of 



with respect to them, a men simple, . 



ing them to a temporary lethargy. This is the 

 pules, which prassjnt mo mstaswaa 



by subject- 



The 

 of keen 



of migration. 



of febes have long been the subject 

 An 



been produced, 

 puhtishad on til* 

 ons 

 prrindked inquiry, and 



with caution. 



. 



The movements of fishes are not performed with the 

 same regularity asxl precision as die migrations of the 

 feathered tribe*. Shoals of haddocks, for example, ft*. 

 quint for several yevs a particular part of the coast, 

 and, without sny apparent cause, take their departure, 

 panied with all those a 



, 



animals which feed on tbssn. 



The movn, oftmmish which spproaehom-shore^ 

 for the purpose of drposiling their spawn, an more 

 regularly performed. Hut these migrationa can scarce- 

 ly be con,.dercd as instances of hybernation. They 

 have but little relation to the seasons of the year, as the 

 try of tbeac isb may be found in almost every season in 



our rivers, and, as their movements are known to de- 

 pend on their condition with respect to fecundation. In 

 our article ICHTHYOLOGY, a particular account will be 

 given of the migratory movement* of the different spe- 

 cies of Brit' 



Among the Mollusca, Cirrhipedes, and Annelides, no 

 examples of a migrating hybernation have occurred. 

 In the class Crustacea, there is one very curious in- 

 stance of migration, which the reader will find giverr 

 in detail under the species Ocypode uca, in Vol. VII. 

 pageSyi. 



CHAP. IV. 



HYBBRNATINO ARIMALS WHICH BECOME TORPID. 



THIS is one of the most curious subjects in zoology, Torpidity 

 and has long occupied the attention of the natural his- 

 torian and the physiologist All animals we know re- 

 quire stated intervals of repose to recruit exhausted na- 

 ture, and prepare for farther exertion, a condition 

 which we term sleep. But there are a few animals 

 which, besides this daily repose, require annually some 

 months of continued inactivity, to enable them to under- 

 go the common fatigues of life during the remaining 

 part of the year. These animals exhibit, therefore, two 

 kinds of sleep that which they enjoy daily during the 

 season of their activity, and that which they experience 

 during their brumal retirement. This last kind of sleep 

 is generally termed torpidity, and is also known by the 

 term hi/bmiation. 



As the phenomena which torpid animals exhibit are 

 somewhat different according to the Hac* to which 

 they belong, it will be more convenient for us to treat 

 of the animals of each class separately, beginning with 



QuADRUr-tD*. 



The quadrupeds which are known to become torpid 

 belong exclusively to the digitated order. Some spe- 

 cies arc found among the primattt, as the different 

 kinds of bats ; among4be/>r,r we find the hedgehog and 

 the tanric , while among the glirtt the torpid specie* 

 are numerous, and their habits have been studied with 

 the greatest attention, as the marmot, the hamster, 

 and the dormouse* 



The food of these animals is very different, according 

 to the order* or genera to which thry belong. The 

 bats support themselves by catching insects, and those 

 chiefly of the lepidopterous kinds ; the hedgehog lives 

 on worms and snails ; while other*, as the marmot and 



WMBt^A^M J^A.1 __.i -- . M f , 1- ...,1 >- - t _ 



Ii-tni'tir. lertl BBJ rot. *'.!*. irul lirrt'V 



It is usually supposed that torpid animals are con- 

 Insd to the cold region* of the earth. That they abound 

 in such regions, must be admitt. I . luit their range of 

 latitude is not so limited .1 nt their occurrence 



even in warm countries. 1 IUM the Dijon tnpilta, 

 which is found from the 5Sd degree of north Lit 

 to the tropics, is equally torpid during the winter 

 months in Egypt as in Siberia. In the r.irmrr country 

 it is more easily revived by a very slight increase of 

 temperature, its lethargy not being so profouivl. The 

 tanric (Tnitnc caudattit), which is an inlmli.' .;.< f 

 India and Madagascar, hecomrs torpid even in those 

 CiMilli lea, and continues so during nearly six months 

 of the year. 



The precise period of the year in which these ani- 

 mals retire to their wmtrr quarters and become torpid, 

 IMS not bean Mcertained with any degree of precision. 

 The jumping mouse of Canada ((eikillut Catiadfntn) 

 is said to retire to its torpid state in Seytesabej, and is 

 restored to activity in the month of May . The tor- 



