402 



SCIUJ^CU. 



[Vol. VI., No. 144. 



notice. As it is, however, we can only point out, 

 that, separated as they are by lofty mountains, the 

 Indians and Burmans have little in common ; but 

 the Buddhist religion, and the Buddhism of 

 Burma, are said to differ in many essential points 

 from that of India. Then, too, the caste distinc- 

 tions of the one country do not obtain in the other, 

 and, finally, the system of land tenure and ad- 

 ministration in vogue in this part of the land of the 

 white elephant, is unique in the institutional his- 

 tory of mankind. Any one interested in the subject 

 is referred to a work in two volumes, entitled ' The 

 Burman,' by an author who conceals his identity 

 under the euphonious pseudonyme of Shway Yoe, 

 and to the late Captain Forbes's invaluable work 

 on British Burma. 



If the Burmans are the rulers of the country as 

 a whole, their hold on the tribes living between 

 Bamo and the Yunnan frontier is very slight. On 

 the hills nearest Bamo live the Kakhyens, a savage 

 and godless people, who worship ' nats ' and tyran- 

 nize over travellers. They are few in numbers, 

 and, with the English once in possession of Bamo, 

 could offer little opposition. Intermingled with 

 them in Siam, and spreading thence to the south 

 well into Siam, and to the east beyond the Chinese 

 frontier, live the Shans, who are much more 

 capable of civilization than the wild Kakhyens, 

 and even now lead a peaceable and well-ordered 

 life. The Shans seem to be related to the Siamese 

 rather than to the Burmans, and, indeed, the 

 southern tribes are tributary to Siam. So, too, in 

 theory, are the Burman Shans tributary to Burma. 

 In practice, however, it is not so, and the power 

 of the Burman government, which grows rapidly 

 less as one gets away from the despot's palace in the 

 centre of Mandalay, becomes nothing long before 

 the Yunnan frontier is reached. Indeed, some 

 Shan tribes are reported as paying a nominal 

 tribute to the rulers of both countries, while 

 obeying neither. 



Passing over the boundary, we come at once to 

 that portion of Yunnan which for eighteen long 

 years was the scene of the Mohammedan revolt 

 against the Chinese yoke. At last, in 1874, this 

 rebellion of the Panthays, as the Mussulmans are 

 called in Yunnan, was finally crushed. In the 

 course of the eighteen years of civil war, how- 

 ever, the country had been in great measure de- 

 populated, its agriculture ruined, and its com- 

 merce paralyzed. Now, again, caravans are re- 

 ported as arriving at Bamo. This part of our 

 globe is so rich in the products of its soil, in the 

 mineral wealth lying within easy reach, provided 

 the cost of transportation was not so great, and 

 in its splendid forests of teak and other hard- 

 wood trees, that there seems no doubt but that 



the first nation to penetrate to the interior, and 

 build the necessary roads and railways', will for 

 many years monopolize the trade of a large por- 

 tion of Farther India. Edward Channing. 



AESTIVATION OF MAMMALS, WHAT IS IT 9 



The occurrence of aestivation, or something con- 

 siderably like it, is a possible mid-summer feature 

 of the animal life in southern New Jersey ; and 

 yet I find no reference to the subject in any work 

 descriptive of the habits of our fauna. What is 

 aestivation ? In Stormonth's dictionary, the defi- 

 nition is as follows : the sleep or dormancy of 

 animals during the hot or dry season in warm 

 cHmates ; the analogue of hybernation in cold 

 regions. 



The condition of certain mammals, as reported 

 to me during the summer of 1884, brought the 

 subject prominently to mind, and I found that in 

 past years I had made many memoranda concern- 

 ing unconscious animals ; but the full significance 

 of which I did not, until recently, recognize ; and 

 indeed, I may not now correctly interpret the 

 facts. 



The following is an instance of the supposed 

 occurrence of aestivation, or something closely akin 

 to it : — 



A family of white-footed mice was found in an 

 exposed position in an open field ; the nest being 

 made of a few leaves and some thistle down, under 

 an old tin pan, the bottom of which had nearly 

 rusted away. When these miee were taken up — 

 and they were handled with great care — they were 

 found to be soft and warm, as when in full vigor, 

 but gave no signs of life. The female mouse and 

 her three young, which were more than half grown, 

 constituted the family. As there was no apparent 

 cause for the death of the mice, I determined to 

 investigate the matter very carefuUy. One of the 

 young was pricked on the ear with a needle, 

 when it flinched slightly. The others were simi- 

 larly tested, and all gave evidence of life to the 

 same extent. CaiTying these mice to a shady spot, 

 and placing them in a comparatively cool position, 

 they regained their ordinary activity in about seven 

 hours ; the process not appearing to be as gradual 

 as it reaUy was, but resembling closely the awaking 

 from an ordinary sleep. They were then replaced 

 in their nest in the field, which they promptly 

 abandonded, but returned thereto, in the course of 

 the next day. Three days later, these mice were 

 found in precisely the same condition. Time, 

 noon; thermometer 106° F. These mice were 

 taken directly to a cellar, forty-two degrees cooler 

 than the open field, and the sudden change 

 proved too great a shock. The young died in one 



