312 
HAMSTER. 
pods, and afterwards removes the husks through the 
oblique passage. When the magazines are filled, 
which often contain twelve pounds of grain, he co- 
vers them, and carefully shuts up all the avenues 
with earth, that his retreat may not be discovered : 
there he remains in perfect tranquillity till the frost 
becomes severe, when he gradually sinks into a state 
of complete torpidity. 
The peasants during the winter season go, what 
they call, a hamster hunting ; and when they find 
one of these hoards, which they can only do by the 
heap of earth that lies near the entrance of the ob- 
lique passage, they open the hole and discover the 
little hamster lying upon a bed of soft straw, with 
his head bent under his belly between the two fore- 
legs, while those behind rest upon his muzzle. This 
state of temporary death is so complete, that when 
the ejrelids are forced open they instantly close again. 
The whole body feels as cold as ice. All the limbs 
are stiff, and respiration is no longer to be perceived. 
Upon dissecting the animal in this situation, the 
heart indeed is seen to contract and dilate, but with so 
slow a motion that the pulsations do not exceed fif- 
teen in a minute ; the fat appears coagulated ; the 
intestines are cold, and so totally lost to all sense of 
feeling, that the application of spirit of wine or oil 
of vitriol is not sufficient to awaken him entirely 
from his lethargy, though he sometimes opens his 
mouth, as if he wanted to respire. 
It appears that cold alone is not the cause of this 
animal’s torpidity ; he must likewise be excluded 
