HIBBERT LECTXTRES 8 chosen president. He is the author of several works on logic and general philosophy.
HIBBERT LECTURES, an English foundation instituted by the trustees of Robert Hibbert (1770-1849), a West India merchant, for the discussion of problems in religion or theology. Among the lecturers have been Max 'Miiller, Page Renouf, Renan, Rhys Bands, Kuenon, Beard, Reville, Pflei- derer, Rhys, Sayce, Hatch, Montefiore, Drummond, and others. The lectures are published. The foundation also supports in part the "Hibbert Journal." HIBBING, a city in Minnesota, in St. Louis CO. It is on the Missabe and Northern, and the Great Northern rail- roads. Situated in the Mesaba iron ore range, the most productive iron mining region in the United States, it has stead- ily grown in industrial importance. There are five important mines within the city limits. Pop. (1910) 8,832; (1920) 15,089. HIBERNATION, in zoology, that pe- culiar condition of sleep in which certain animals, chiefly cheiroptera and rodentia, pass the winter season. The bat, the hedgehog, and the dormouse are the most striking examples of this phenom- enon. During dormancy the animal functions are all but suspended. Respiration and circulation are reduced to a minimum. The air of a closed jar^ containing a hibernating dormouse is unaltered. Others can survive long in an atmos- phere deprived of oxygen. A bat in a lethargic condition has remained 16 min- utes under the water. Hibernators lose weight, often to the extent of 30 and 40 per cent., in this respect resembling starving animals. All reptiles and batrachia become tor- pid during cold weather, snakes passing the winter in tangled knots as if for warmth; if the viper is aroused at this 'reason its venom is said to be inert. Alligators creep into holes in the river- banks, and frogs lie dormant in the mud at the bottom of ponds. Many fishes (carp, roach, chub, minnows, eels, the Mediterranean muraena, etc.) also retire into some deep recess, or into the mud, though their condition at this period is not that of the true hibernators. Their atality only is lowered. In winter all land-snails hibernate by closing the mouths of their shells with a plate (the epiphragm), leaving only a little hole in the middle of it for breathing. Slugs also become torpid in holes in the ground, and the fresh-water mussels HIBISCUS (Unio, Anodonta, Dreissena) bury them- selves in the pond and river mud till the cold months are over. The torpidity of insects in the pupa and other stages is well known. Individuals belonging to the Vanessa group of butterflies which hibernate in the imago stage occasionally emerge during mild winter days. But hive-bees do not hibernate, food being necessary for their subsistence during the flowerless season. HIBERNIA, the ancient name of Ire- land, applied to it first by Julius Caesar. Aristotle mentions this island by the name of lerne; Pomponius Mela calls it Iverna; Ptolemy, luvernia. • HIBERNIANS, ANCIENT ORDER OF, an Irish society having for its ob- ject the safeguarding of religion and na- tionality. The society had its origin in an edict against the Catholic religion issued in 1562 by the Earl of Sussex, then lord-lieutenant of Ireland, prohibit- ing priests from sleeping in Dublin and ordering Catholics, under penalties, not to attend Catholic services. As a result Prince Ruadhri, of the house of O'Moore, founded "The Defenders," and through their assistance the priests said mass in the mountains. Following Catholic emancipation in 1829 the society was reorganized under its present name and extended to Scotland, the United States, and Canada. The society has actively supported the Gaelic movement and es- tablished a chair for Irish language and Irish literature at the Catholic Uni- versity of America. In 1914 the oi'der had a membership of over 250,000, in- cluding the ladies' auxiliary. In 1913 over $2,500,000 was disbursed for vari- ous purposes. In 1919 the order de- clared itself on the side of the Irish Republic, and set itself to work for its recognition by the United States. HIBISCUS, in botany, the typical genus of the malvaceous tribe Hibiscese. The involucel is of several leaves, calyx with five divisions, petals five, stamens forming a sheath which incloses the five- branched style. Fruit five-celled, many seeded. They are plants with large showy flowers, found chiefly, though not exclusively, in tropical countries. In the West Indies H. arborea furnishes tena- cious fibers, which are made into whips. Those of H. cannabinns constitute the sun of India, used as a substitute for hemp. H. syriaci's and H. rosa sinensis are ornamental; the astringent plants of the latter are used by the Chinese to blacken their eyebrows and the leather of their shoes. More than 100 species of the genus are known.
