236 MAMMALIA— DORMOUSE. 



during tne winter. They are not in a state of natural sleep at this period ; 

 they are in a torpor, which is produced by the coldness of the blood, and by 

 Avhich they lose the use of their members and senses. Their internal heat 

 is indeed so small, that it hardly exceeds that of the temperature of the air. 

 When the heat of the air is at ten degrees above the freezing point of the 

 thermometer, the heat of these animals is also at ten degrees. Now it is 

 well known, that the internal heat of man, and of the generality of animals, 

 exceeds at all times thirty degrees ; and therefore there is little reason to 

 wonder why these animals, so inferior to all others in point of heat, should 

 become torpid as soon as their little quantity of internal heat ceases to be 

 assisted by the external heat of the air ; a circumstance which naturally 

 happens when the thermometer is not more than ten or eleven degrees 

 above congelation. This is the real cause of the torpor of these animals ; a 

 cause of which naturalists have not been apprised, and which, nevertheless, 

 extends to all animals that sleep during the winter. 



This torpor continues as long as the cause which produces it continues, 

 and ceases when the cold ceases. A few degrees of heat above the tenth or 

 eleventh degree are sufficient to reanimate these creatures ; and if they are 

 kept in a very warm place during winter, they do not become torpid at all. 



The flesh of the fat squirrel is not unlike that of the guinea-pig. They 

 were considered as a dainty, by the Romans, Avho fattened great numbers 

 of them in receptacles, called gliraria. Like the common squirrel, this 

 animal lives in forests, climbs to the tops of trees, and leaps from branch to 

 branch. This it does less nimbly, indeed, than the squirrel, whose legs are 

 longer, whose belly is by no means so big, and which is remarkable for 

 being meagre. Nuts, however, and other wild fruits, form its usual nourish- 

 ment. It likewise eats little birds, which it takes in the nests. It does not, 

 like the squirrel, nestle in the upper parts of trees, but makes a bed of moss 

 in the trunks of those which are hollow. It also shelters itself in the clefts 

 of rocks, and always manifests a preference for dry places. It avoids mois- 

 ture, it drinks little, rarely descends to the ground, and, unlike the squirrel, 

 which is easily tamed, remains always wild. The species is very generally 

 diffused in Europe. 



THE GARDEN DORMOUSEi 



Is of a tawny color on the upper part of the body, and whitish ash, tinged 

 with yellow, on the under. Round each eye it has a black circle, and a 

 black spot behind each ear. 



These animals nestle in the holes of walls, climb up trees, choose the 

 best fruits, and gnaw them as they begin to ripen. To peaches, in particu- 

 lar, they are exceedingly destructive. They climb up pear, apricot, and 



I Mijoxus nitela, Desm. 



