26 
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE CINCHONAS. 
summits; cubes, measuring 1.500th inch, and four-sideci 
tabular prisms. 
The constitution of these various crystalline bodies I will 
not pretend even to conjecture, leaving this subject to the 
consideration of the chemist. 
ART. V.— THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE CINCHONAS. 
Extracted from a work on this subject by M. Weddell. 
In 1843, M. de Castetnau, having been commissioned by 
the French government to undertake a scientific expedition 
into the interior of the provinces of Brazil and Peru, the 
Museum of Natural History of Paris appointed M. Weddell 
to join the expedition, with special instructions to investigate 
several important botanical subjects, and other branches of 
natural history. After conjointly prosecuting these inves- 
tigations for two years, M. Weddell separated from M. 
Castlenau, on the confines of Mattogrosso, in order to pursue 
his researches in another direction, and these researches he 
continued until 1848. The question of the cinchonas, which 
has been so much discussed, and is still so obscure, particu- 
larly fixed the attention of M. Weddell. It was with 
reference to this object that his course was principally direct- 
ed, and the results of his laborious researches form the sub- 
ject of the work alluded to in the heading of this paper. 
This important work, which, when finished, will form a 
magnificent folio volume with numerous engravings, ap- 
peared to us so important in a pharmaceutical point of view, 
that we did not wait its completion before giving some ac- 
count of it. M. Weddell with much kindness having placed 
at our disposal the first sheets of his work, we have extracted 
some details, which will indicate the general character of 
