nd mental degeneracy and nondevelopment, and possibly
goiter. The subjects of this disease seldom reach five feet in height,
and usually not more than four. The word cretin is derived from the
Latin creatura. They are found all over the world. In Switzerland it is
estimated that in some cantons there is one cretin to every 25
inhabitants. In Styria, the Tyrol, and along the Rhine cretins are
quite common, and not long since cases existed in Derbyshire. These
creatures have been allowed to marry and generate, and thus extend
their species. In "Le Medicin de Campagne," Balzac has given a vivid
picture of the awe and respect in which they were held and the way in
which they were allowed to propagate. Speaking of the endemic cretins,
Beaupre says: "I see a head of unusual form and size, a squat and
bloated figure, a stupid look, bleared, hollow, and heavy eyes, thick,
projecting eyelids, and a flat nose. His face is of a leaden hue, his
skin dirty, flabby, covered with tetters, and his thick tongue hangs
down over his moist, livid lips; his mouth, always open and full of
saliva, shows teeth going to decay. His chest is narrow, his back
curved, his breath asthmatic, his limbs short, misshapen, without
power. The knees are thick and inclined inward, the feet flat. The
large head droops listlessly on the breast; the abdomen is like a bag."
The cretin is generally deaf and dumb, or only able to give a hoarse
cry. He is indifferent to heat and cold, and even to the most revolting
odors. The general opinion has always been that the sexual desire and
genital organs are fully developed.

A quotation under our observation credits Colonel Sykes with the
following statistics of cretinism, which show how in some locations it
may be a decided factor of population. In December, 1845, in a
population of 2,558,349 souls (the locality not mentioned), there were
18,462 people with simple goiter. Of the cretins without goiter there
were 2089. Of cretins with goiter there were 3909; and cretins in which
goiter was not stated 962, making a total of 6960. Of these 2185 had
mere animal instincts; 3531 possessed very small intellectual
faculties; 196 were almost without any; 1048 not classified. Of this
number 2483 were born of healthy and sane fathers; 2285 from healthy
mothers; 961 from goitrous fathers; 1267 from goitrous mothers; 49 from
cretin fathers; 41 from cretin mothers; 106 from cretin fathers with
goiter; 66 from cretin mothers with g