Part 13 (1/2)
”That varies with the species,” replied the Doctor ”Birds have the highest, especially the duck and the hen The lish to clai
”Well, sure enough, we've so us, but as I never have put a therive you statistics”
”There is no sensible difference,” said the Doctor, ”between men of different races when they are placed under the same conditions, whatever their food may be I may almost say their temperature would be the same at the Equator as the Pole”
”Then the heat of our bodies is the saland,”
replied Altamont
”Just about it The other species of s The horse, the hare, the elephant, the porpoise, and the tiger are nearly the same; but the cat, the squirrel, the rat, the panther, the sheep, the ox, the dog, theis 104”
”Rather hu to us,” put in Altamont
”Then come the amphibia and the fish,” resumed the Doctor, ”whose temperature varies with that of the water The serpent has a terees less Insects appear to have the temperature of air and water”
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”All this is very well,” interrupted Hatteras, who had hitherto taken no part in the conversation, ”and we are obliged to the Doctor for his scientific infor to brave the heat of the torrid zone I think it would be far more seasonable to speak of cold, if the Doctor could tell us what is the lowest tehten you on that too,” replied the Doctor ”There are a great number of memorable winters, which appear to have come at intervals of about forty-one years In 1364, the Rhone was frozen over as far as Arles; in 1408, the Danube was frozen throughout its entire extent, and the wolves crossed the Cattigut on firround; in 1509, the Adriatic and the Mediterranean were frozen at Venice and Marseilles, and the Baltic on the 10th of April; in 1608, all the cattle died in England from the cold; in 1789, the Thahtful winter of 1813 will long be reest ever known in the present century was in 1829 So much for Europe”
”But here, within the Polar circle, what is the lowest degree?”
asked Altamont
”My word!” said the Doctor ”I think we have experienced the lowest ourselves, for one day the therht, the lowest teers has been 61 at Melville Island, 65 at Port Felix, and 70 at Fort Reliance”
”Yes,” said Hatteras, ”it was the unusual severity of the winter that barred our progress, for it came on just at the worst time possible”
”You were stopped, you say?” asked Altae west,” the Doctor hastened to reply
”Then thethe conversation, ”are about 200 apart So you see, my friends, we may make ourselves easy”
”But if the sun were suddenly extinguished,” suggested Johnson, ”would not the earth's temperature be far lower?”
”There is no fear of such a catastrophe; but, even should it happen, the temperature would be scarcely any different”
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”That's curious”
”It is; but Fourrier, a learned Frenchman, has proved the fact incontestably If it were not the case, the difference between day and night would be far greater, as also the degree of cold at the Poles But now I think, friends, we should be the better of a few hours' sleep Who has charge of the stove?”
”It is ood fire, for it is a perishi+ng night”