HIBERNATION 



against the production of swallows that have been kept 

 in captivity, knowing well (having myself kept them all 

 the year in a cage) that this can be done ; but what I 

 must insist upon is, that any swallow brought to me in 

 the months before named must be alive and well authenti- 

 cated as to the place and conditions in which it was 

 found. 



I have not, as a result of this offer, had to pay for a 

 single specimen, otherwise I certainly should have been 

 ruined had there existed any truth in the statement 

 made by the people who believe they know all about the 

 subject. 



A reference to the dictionary explains the word " hiber- 

 nate," to winter : to pass the season of winter in close 

 quarters or in seclusion. The words hibernate and hiber- 

 nation would appear to be used in this correspondence in 

 a wrong sense. 



Professor Newton, writing on the subject, says: — "The 

 alleged torpidity of swallows or other birds is quite a 

 different thing, and I have never met (nor do I expect to 

 meet) with evidence of it that I can accept." 



227 



