Democratic Sentinel, Volume 22, Number 10, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 March 1898 — Origin of a French Habit. [ARTICLE]

Origin of a French Habit.

Shrugging the shoulders In cold weather is probably the survival of an old instinct, which prompts animals to put the skin of the back on the stretch, and so erect the hairy covering of that part. The hair is now reduced to a mere downy covering, but the old Instinct still remains, in common with others, the rule apparently being that all instincts which are harmless to their possessors are constant, In spite of any change of structure. All animals with long hair or feathers erect their coats in cold weather, for the warmth of such a covering depends on its thickness and the amount of air it contains, rather than on Its bulk.