105 LECTURE III. 



cheek-pouches, and deposits in its subterraneous 

 retreat in order to feed on during the autumn. 

 On the approach of winter the Hamster conceals 

 himself in his deep cell, well lined with dried 

 erass and moss, and falls into a state of the most 

 profound sleep and entire torpidity ; every animal 

 function being so entirely deadened, that it is said 

 the creature may be cut open without exhibiting 

 any sign of sensibility : the heart, however, may 

 be observed to contract and dilate alternately, 

 but with a motion so slow that the pulsations do 

 not exceed fourteen or fifteen in the space of a 

 minute ; the strongest stimulants are of no avail, 

 and the electric shock may be passed through the 

 animal without exciting any appearance of irri- 

 tability. This lethargy of the Hamster has been 

 generally ascribed to the effect of cold alone ; 

 but late observations have proved, that, unless at 

 a certain depth beneath the surface, so as to be 

 beyond the access of the external air, the animal 

 does not fall into its state of torpidity ; the se- 

 verest cold, on the surface, not affecting it. On 

 tlie contrary, when taken out of its burrow and 

 exposed to the air, it infallibly wakes in a few 

 hours. Its waking is a gradual operation^ and 



