THE CULTIVATOR. 353 
1846. 
Heifers. 
Gowan , 3 years old, sold to Mr. Bickett, for $105. 
Nelly, 3 years old, sold to Mr. Sproat, of Taunton, 
Mass., for $52£. 
Bulls. 
Jock the Laird, 1 year old, sold to Mr. Rodman, of 
New Bedford, for $70. 
Sandy , 1 year old, sold to Mr. Dean, for $29. 
HYBERNATING- ANIMALS. 
The manner in which life is supported in those ani¬ 
mals, which remain a long time in a state of dormancy, 
is, to the first view, at least, quite mysterious. In our re¬ 
gion of country, we have the wood-chuck, (or <f ground 
hog,”) hedge hog, and some other animals, which pass 
six or seven months of the year in a senseless sleep. 
During this long period, they take neither food nor 
drink, and most of the functions of the body are totally 
suspended. The black bear also hybernates for a con¬ 
siderable portion of the winter season, but does not fall 
into as low a degree of torpidity while (e denned up,” 
as some other animals. 
It is a matter which has often excited inquiry, how 
life could be supported for so long a time, apparently 
without sustenance. Observation, however, teaches, 
that in hybernating animals, a deposit of nourishment 
is accumulated during their active period, which serves 
as a source of subsistence during the remainder of the 
year. The material which affords this supply, is fat, 
and during the period of sleep it is gradually consumed 
by the process of respiration, or in supporting life. 
The amount of material consumed is less, however, 
than would be at first supposed. The reason of this is, 
that life is only kept up in a very low degree—the very 
slight action of the system occasioning but little waste, 
and, of course, calling only for a supply proportionate¬ 
ly small. 
Dr. Holmes, of the Maine Farmer, in a very sensi¬ 
ble and interesting article on this subject, remarks: 
“ The physiological condition of those animals which 
become completely torpid during winter, cannot be 
perfectly ascertained. It has been found, however, 
that they have a great diminution of bodily temperature 
—breathe very slowly indeed, so that it is hardly pos¬ 
sible to perceive any respiration at all—the pulsation of 
the heart is hardly felt, and the circulation is of course 
very languid. The feeling or irritability is almost de¬ 
stroyed, for you can cut off a limb and lay open the 
body without their appearing to feel it. As we have 
before stated, they become very lean and emaciated; 
but notwithstanding all this, when they awake at the 
end of the torpid period, they are very active and vigo¬ 
rous.” 
There is one expression (and but one) in the above 
quotation, to which we take an exception, viz: that 
animals “ become very lean and emaciated ” at the close 
of their hybernating period—at any rate, we know that 
they do not always become so. We are aware that the 
idea advanced by Dr. H. is also countenanced by Lie¬ 
big; but still we are satisfied that it is not altogether 
correct. We have known bears killed in their “ dens,” 
where they had remained for four or five months, which, 
on being dressed, were found excessively fat; and we 
have known wood-chucks dug out of their holes in the 
early part of spring, which were in a surprising state of 
fatness. 
Now we do not by any means assert that these ani¬ 
mals, would have been as fat at the close of their torpid 
state as they were at the commencement, or that the 
fat is not lessened during this state; but we mean to say 
that so small an amount was consumed, that there 
was still left a large surplus deposit. Wood-chucks, as 
before stated, are more torpid in winter than bears, and 
they therefore require proportionately less to support 
life; in fact, we have often heard the remark, in our 
younger days, that these animals ‘ £ come out fatter in 
the spring than they were in the fall.” The remarka¬ 
ble degree of fatness in which they were sometimes 
found in the spring, undoubtedly led to this mistake j 
but their condition at this time, is good evidence thaf 
only a small amount of fat, comparatively, had been 
consumed during the winter. 
But the condition of animals at the close of hy» 
bernation, depends, of course, on the condition they 
were in when they entered this state, and also the tem¬ 
perature, and other circumstances to which they are 
exposed. They generally take care to place themselves 
below the reach of frost, and in a situation where they 
would be chiefly unaffected by changes of temperature. 
If the accumulation of fat was large in the fall, it will 
not all be required to carry the animal through the 
winter. In regard to bears, it is often remarked by 
hunters, that those which ramble in winter are poor, 
and that those which remain in their dens are fat. The 
reason is obvious—the fat animal is supported from the 
deposite acquired during the previous season; the poor 
one is obliged to procure subsistence from fresh sup¬ 
plies of food, or perish of starvation. 
But whatever may be the quantity of fat which these 
animals may have when they first come out of their 
hiding places in the spring, they quickly lose it. We 
are convinced of this fact, partly from our own obser¬ 
vation, and from the assurances of experienced hunters. 
They have informed us that the first object of the ani¬ 
mal on awaking from its long sleep, is to procure her¬ 
bage of a cathartic quality; and under the course of 
depletion which is pursued, the system is rapidly re¬ 
duced,—the fat is carried oflf, and the hair becomes 
loose, and falls off*. In a very short time however, the 
animal appears to have undergone a complete renova¬ 
tion; his old coat is succeeded by a new and brighter 
one, and with renewed strength he resumes his career 
of life. 
Liebig cites a case of a pig, which, having been 
overwhelmed by a slip of earth, lived 160 days without 
food; but it was found that during this time it had lost 
in weight 120 pounds. In reference to this, it should 
be remembered that the pig was not during his con¬ 
finement wrapped in a deep sleep; and from the con¬ 
stant uneasiness, which it is natural to suppose his situ¬ 
ation produced, there was a much greater consumption 
of material in supporting life than‘there is in animals 
which lie in a torpid state. 
This subject has a practical bearing upon which we 
would say a few words. Although we cannot induce 
our domestic animals to pass the cold months of winter 
like the bear and wood-chuck, in an unconscious sleep, 
yet we can place them in a situation which so far ap¬ 
proximates it, that the expense of supporting them may 
be very much lessened, and their comfort, besides, greatly 
promoted. It has been proved that warmth and quie¬ 
tude are equivalent to food. In reference to the hog, 
so much does he resemble the bear in his nature and 
organization, that if he is well coated and lined with fat 
at the commencement of winter, he is much inclined to 
sleep away the time in a comfortable stye; in this situa¬ 
tion, so little is the bodily waste, that a trifling amount of 
food only is required. A knowledge of this important 
fact, has induced some farmers to adopt a very econo¬ 
mical mode of wintering their hogs. 
RECENT AMERICAN PATENTS. 
Reported for :i The Cultivator,” by Zenas C. Robbins, 
Mechanical Engineer , and Attorney for procuring 
Patents, Washington, D. C. 
For an improvement in hames for harness. Kasson 
Frazer, Fayetteville, New-York, Sept. 26, 1846. 
The claim in this case clearly sets forth the manner 
of construction, and the operation of this valuable in¬ 
vention. 
Claim . —“ What I claim as my invention, and desire 
to secure by letters patent, is the attaching the curved 
clipps to the front sides of the hames by means of 
double joints, so as to render them self-adjustable, and 
to keep the draught directly in a line from the point of 
attachment of the clipps to the hames, to the point of 
attachment of the tugs to the whiflletree, in the manner 
and for the purpose as herein set forth.” 
