A delicate index records the
slightest pulsation, while a thermometer shows the rise and fall of the
temperature at every moment during the period; and by an arrangement
of the wing, the circulation of the blood is recorded. A more delicate
experiment can hardly be imagined, as a strong breath, a sneeze, or a
footfall will cause the subject of the experiment to recover enough to
respire several times; and the effect of this on the machine can be
imagined when it is known that though, while in this condition, they
produce no effect upon the oxygen of the air about them, they consume
when respiring more than four cubic inches of oxygen an hour.
The common marmot is a great underground sleeper. They build large
storehouses, sometimes eight feet in diameter, and from the latter part
of September to April they lie in them, and, like the bears, give birth
to their young during this period.
The dormouse is a remarkable sleeper. Even in their ordinary sleep they
can be taken from the nest and handled without waking them. Toward
winter they acquire a great deal of fat, and stow away a vast amount of
provision around about their nest, and then go to sleep within; but they
rarely awake to use this food unless a very warm period comes around
before the regular breaking up of cold weather.
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