Fishes and Reptiles in Winter 



ANNA K. BEWLEY 



i 



YOUNG MIRROR CARP 



The Carps are Hardy and Excellent Fishes for the Beginner 

 Courtesy of the Ne-tf York Zoological Society 



Much has been written on the hiber- 

 nation of mammals, fishes and reptiles, 

 and it has ever been a fascinating subject 

 to those interested in the study of natural 

 history. That quaint and charming 

 writer and observer, Reverend Gilbert 

 White, of Selbourne, was much interested 

 in the subject. In a letter written to 

 Thomas Pennant, in 1774, he refers to 

 the hibernation of the carp as follows : 

 "In the garden of the Black Bear Inn, 

 m the town of Reading, is a stream or 

 canal running under the stables and out 

 into the fields on the other side of the 

 road ; in this water are many carps, which 

 lie rolling about in sight, being fed by 

 travelers, who amuse themselves by toss- 

 ing them bread : but as soon as the 

 weather grows at all severe these fishes 

 are no longer seen, because they retire 

 under the stables, where thev remain till 



the return of spring. Do they lie in a 

 torpid state? If they do not, how are 

 they supported?" He also suggests the 

 possibility of the hibernation of the swal- 

 lows, and we have not learned — even to 

 this day — where they do pass the winter, 

 although we are pretty sure they do not 

 hibernate. 



All of the reptiles and many of the 

 fishes of the cold zones become torpid 

 and pass the winter in a state of hiberna- 

 tion when their food is scarce or unob- 

 tainable. They are said to be in a state of 

 coma, in which all the functions of life 

 are suspended for the time, and no food 

 is taken. AVhile it has been asserted that 

 they die very easily if exposed to too low 

 a temperature, Mr. Sanford Omensetter, 

 writing in the "Proceedings of the Dela- 

 ware County Institute of Science," makes 

 the statement that "reptiles have been 



