The general degeneracy of the body is frequently accompanied with a large swelling at the front of the neck, which gets the name of “Goitre,” and which is known in England under the appellation of “Derbyshire Neck.” Cretinism has prevailed in Switzerland for many centuries, and has been likewise noticed among the mountains of China. Cretinism is thus ably described by Dr James Johnson: “The stature is seldom more than from four to five feet, often much less;—the head is deformed in shape, and too large in proportion to the body;—the skin is yellow, cadaverous, or of a mahogany colour, wrinkled, sometimes of an unearthly pallor, with unsightly eruptions;—the flesh is soft and flabby;—the tongue is large, and often hanging out of the mouth;—the eyes red, prominent, watery, and frequently squinting;—the countenance void of all expression, except that of idiotism or lasciviousness;—the nose flat;—the mouth large, gaping, slavering;—the lower jaw elongated;—the belly pendulous;—the limbs crooked, short, and so distorted as to present anything but a waddling progression;—the external senses often imperfect, and the Cretin deaf and dumb;—the _tout en semble_ of this hideous abortion of nature presenting the traits of premature old age. The Cretins are voracious, and addicted to low propensities. To eat and sleep form their chief pleasures. Hence we see them, between meals, basking in nonchalance on the sunny sides of the houses, insensible to every stimulus that agitates their more intelligent fellow-creatures.” Before closing this sketch of the effects of malaria in Italy, a table of the annual decrement of life is submitted, which will shew the fearful mortality of that country over that of England, the disproportion against the former country being owing, in a very great degree, to the contamination of the atmosphere, caused by the effluvia which arise from the soil. In Rome, 1 out of every 25 persons dies annually, or a 25th part of the whole population. In Naples, 1 out of every 28 persons dies annually, or a 28th part of the whole population. In England, 1 out of every 60 persons dies annually, or a 60th part of the whole population. Thus, in England, the mean term of life is more than double what it is in Rome or Naples; and thus, while it takes 60 years to extinguish a generation in England, the brief period of 25 years completes the same work at Rome. INTERMITTENT FEVER, OR AGUE. Intermittent fever, more familiarly known as ague, is also a common product of air which is vitiated with effluvia arising from the soil. That disease was much more prevalent some years ago in England than it is at present, where it is almost confined to Lincolnshire, and some of the low grounds and meadows of Kent and Essex, through which the Thames flows.