90 Queries and Ansiioenl 



ascribed to some unknown influence of the Alpine waters. The facts which 

 arc brought forward in ^ipport of this theory may be briefly stated. It is 

 observed that the rivers, both great and small, that take their origin in the 

 glaciers, and other elevated-crusts of ice and snow, become in a short time 

 perfectly luhiie, by being mixed with the particles which they wear from 

 rocks and mineral substances in their noisy and precipitous routes to the 

 lakes below. Hence, water taken from any of these streams deposits, by 

 standing, a prodigious quantity of saline and mineral substances. When it is 

 considered wlrnt inikiitfc variety of materials constitute' the beds and banks of 

 these Alpine rivers^ and thequantityof//«^W/KS which they carry with them, 

 there can be little doubt that such ingredients, when conveyed into the sto- 

 machs of the inhabitants, exert an important influence. This supposition 

 seems to admit of proof, by the fact that ^Oitregi-adually and progfessively 

 deoreftses ab -we descend the:Rhin6; a iriver'thut rises in the Alps and is chiefly 

 suppHed'byrAlpin^ watepg." tt'i8'<sc««'C6)3ineces^ry to obsei-ve-, that- the 

 river^depiositsy as- itjiricrea^esl it$i discancfe froni' fch<e Ji^lps^ 'tli e'ingrddients with 

 whioh iti iwas im^regnabedi i and>be<i<9mes? rnkGd-irith' «iu5c?li^v v stream^ frorii 

 riversiriot'Ai^nei. ofThet^meichakigeis hXm oli^vablei in''tHe 'Rhoti^. 'The 

 Upper* >Rh6nB',)\i'liem; *t 'falte-* irit®»vthe' tafoe ^f ' ^\ihe4^, 'A^^'Am\iWei&k "t6 

 whiteaess?;; bai i*s waiter^, wbHfe Jtiearit'^iii^BOfcht itt the' 'Jakef, -'fcifec^Tde'cMr;, 

 andi'Jjass ^through tbencity; ©f -^enevalikfe tmttWkicdrtti $)tf earns -of bluish' 

 crystal. ' 'Among thhsei who'linhabit the tenks, ami' i^^^ 

 upiper or turbid Rhoneytherte are twenty goitres fbk'dnethai; p^ bfe'se^^ifl' 

 tbe coiaintry^odjadentito^the'lerwerdr filtered Rhone*, in its'fA-ogi'^fes, below 

 the. Lake of (jreneva^ to the Mediterranean. ' In further proof of the theory 

 which these fecCs seem to v^ify, it may be observed, that analogy als6 would 

 leadaistD.the sanie conclusion; As there is a mineral or saline feubstaU'ce 

 found itt! nature,'which incapable of retiiotmg swelling of the neck and of 

 many other parts of the body (for instancei iodine), '\*hy shmWd there not 

 be another mineral or saline substance which is capable of prodileing the 

 same kinds of swelling ? Tiie&ame valley that sends forth the miasma which 

 caivses ague, gives bdrth to^the tree from wliich cfuinine, which cures the ague, 

 isobtaiiied.>-'rJo in- irjAnn^ nod: iy.^>: f'(ut .-ilvt; alV r •;.'/;!•;:«;)!/•>'; -u'li ■ .» 



Althougb;i»uc}i;hdsil|«^Isaifl"ifei^i»ie(tidaUaf»d :scieh«ifk?»iaettJ.*f'»fbrmer 

 times in oppoffltio»i!lo'<dw9/e{WiiioTppelfttihg'to the cause of go^tfe, yet it is, 

 perhaps, as- likely'tij^'beJitrtiflJSaiJ^y othei- opinion that might be adducedi 

 The deleterious agent, howevei^j Whi^-h produces goitre in'Switzerlahd, seems' 

 to diflfer in< its effects from that which produces the same disease in Erig- 

 land.-. Thei general healdi-of those who hare swelled riecks in thife country 

 does not suffer oiueb; on the conti'ary, the whole constitution of the Swiss 

 falls aprfey to tlterdeskructrve principle. Bronchocele is but one prominent 

 feature.of a universal physical and intellectual deterioration, which pervades 

 the inhabitants of one of the most romantic and beautiful countries in the 

 world. Their enormous heads j their 'imbecility of mind, and their stunted 

 formsi arrest the attention' of the traveller at every step of his progress in 

 tranrersing the Alpine regions. The poet justly exclaimed of Switzerland, 



/I ! *' Man i^ the only platnt that dwindles here." 



I remain, Sh-jryours^ &c. •*—./. Jo»^^. Limifaw^ Mcnttgomevy shire ^ Sept. 1830. 



Substance found in the Stomach of a Horse. — Sir, Having noticed (p. 447.) 

 the description of a hard substance found in the stomach of the alligator, 

 I take the liberty of sending you a description of a substance, although 

 widely differing from that, which was found some time ago in the stomach 

 of a horse, and presented to me. It is nearly round, cracked on one side, 

 soft, and gives to the touch ; it is of a light ash colour, and bears more 

 resemblance to sponge than any other substance 1 am aware of, but is rather 

 more fibrous. Can it have been formed of hah- licked by the animal off' its 

 shoulders ? An answer, through the medium of your Magazine, would 

 greatly oblige, Sir, yours, &c. — T. W. JJ. Greenwich^ Sept. 6. 1830. 



