346 BACKBONED ANIMALS. 



said to have become cold-blooded. The normal temperature of the zizel 

 is 32 (centigrade). As the cause of the sleep is not directly the result 

 of cold, neither is the awakening caused by a rise in temperature. In 

 experiments with the same-mentioned animal it awoke without any 

 change in the outside temperature, being two hours and forty-five 

 minutes in awakening. In the first hour and forty-five minutes the 

 body temperature rose 6.6 (centigrade), and in the following fifty 

 minutes 17. It was accompanied by no vigorous movements or 

 quicker respiration. During hibernation animals can be placed under 

 water without ill effect, though it would be fatal in a few moments if 

 awake. According to Kirby, joint author of " Introduction to Ento- 

 mology," an authentic case is recorded of an instance of human hiber- 

 nation in India. The man was buried alive in the presence of Sir 

 Claude Wade, the grave guarded and watched for several months, and 

 the hibernator finally taken out, gradually awakening. 



The black bear ( Ursus Americanus) is quite common in 

 northern New York. They attain a weight of four hundred 

 and fifty pounds and a length of eight feet, and are of a 

 dark-brown or black color. In extreme weather the fe- 

 males prepare a den, and as a rule pass into a state of 

 hibernation, during which the intestines are clogged with 

 vegetable substance, generally taken from the pine. In 

 January or February, generally every third year, the young 

 (three or four) are born, remaining under the mother's 

 protection for five or six months. They prey upon sheep, 

 calves, etc., and also eat berries, honey, ants, etc. The 

 grizzly bear ( Ursus ferox) of the western slopes of the 

 Rocky Mountains, the Syrian bear of Mount Lebanon, the 

 Malayan bear, and the sloth or honey bear (Melursus) of 

 India, are others of the family. 



VALUE. Oil, fat, skin, teeth, hair, and viscera. 



Badgers, Otters, etc. (Mustelidce}. The true badg- 

 ers (Taxidea] are found in central and western North and 

 South America, and are thick-set animals about two feet 

 long, not including the tail, which attains a length of six 

 inches. The skunk (Mephitis), twelve different species, 

 ranges from Canada to the Straits of Magellan. The com- 



