2nd s. N» 63., Jan. 3. '57.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



15 



sumed that he predeceased without male issue. 

 Burnet, in the History of his Own Time, seems to 

 have confounded these together, as he speaks of a 

 brother of the last Earl of Gowrie, who " went 

 and lived beyond sea ; and it was given out that 

 he had found the philosopher's stone. He had two 

 sons, who died without issue ; and one daughter, 

 married to Sir Anthony Vandyke." * 



Wood, in his edition of Douglas's Peerage, ap- 

 parently misled by the assumed title of Lord 

 Ruthven by the " eminent physician," as Patrick 

 has been styled, ascribes the authorship of The 

 Ladies Cabinet enlarged and opened to Thomas, 

 1st Lord Ruthven of Ireland ; a peerage created 

 in 1651, that expired on the death of his son 

 David, 2nd baron. f From various circumstances 

 it is clear that this was not the case ; and besides, 

 the author is designed "late" in the edition of 

 1667, while Lord Thomas, who was a soldier, sur- 

 vived till 1673. R. R. 



BHUBABB, WHEN INTEODXJCED ? 



(2"" S. ii. 430.) 



Miller (Gard. Diet., by Thos. Martyn, Reg. 

 Prof.Bot. Univ. Camb., London, 1807), speaking 

 of the seven different species of rhubarb, says : 



1. Rheum Rhnponticum (Rhapontic rhubarb), 

 native of Asia. It was cultivated in 1629 by Mr. 

 John Parkinson (Hort. Kew.), who informs us that 

 it was sent him from beyond sea by a worthy gen- 

 tleman, Dr. Matth. Lister, one of the king's phy- 

 sicians; and first grew with him, before it was 

 ever seen or known elsewhere in England. 

 (Parad. 484.) 



2. Rheum undulatum (waved-leaved rhubarb), a 

 native of China and Siberia, cultivated in 1759 by 

 Mr. Miller. (Hort. Kew.) 



3. Rheum palmatum (officinal rhubarb). Native 

 of China and Tartary, cultivated before 1768 by 

 Mr. Miller. (Hort. Kew.) 



In the last folio edition of the Dictionary, which 

 was published in that year, he says that the seeds 

 had been then lately brought to England, from 

 which many plants were raised ; but that the 

 plant in the Chelsea Garden had not flowered, nor 

 had he seen any plants in that state. In 1724 

 Professor Bradley (Husbandry and Gard., vol. ill. 

 ch. Ii. p. 64.) says, " I could wish that we could 

 get some of the true rhubarb, if possible, for this 

 has not yet grown in Europe, as I could ever find ; 



* The Bishop is wrong in making the Countess of 

 Gowrie the daughter of I^ord Ruthven by Queen Mar- 

 garet, as her mother was Lady Janet Stewart, daughter 

 of the Earl of AthoU. The Gowries had, consequently, 

 no relation through her to the English crown, as imagined 

 by him. 



t This cannot legalli/ be disputed, though the title has 

 de facto been assumed for a long period. 



though once, I remember, the late ingenious Mr. 

 Jacob Bobart thought he had got it. It was not 

 until 1732 that botanists became acquainted with 

 any species of Rheum, which seemed to afford the 

 officinal rhubarb, when some plants received from 

 Russia by Jussleu at Paris and Rand at Chelsea, 

 were .said to supply this important desideratum, 

 and as such were adopted by Linnaeus In his first 

 edition of the Species Plantarum, under the name 

 of Rheum Rhubarbarum." (Mr. Miller had the 

 seeds from Boerhaave in 1734.) 



This, however, was not very generally received 

 as the true rhubarb ; and with a view to ascer- 

 tain this matter more completely, Boerhaave pro- 

 cured from a Tartarian rhubarb merchant the 

 seeds of the plants which produced the roots that 

 he annually sold, and were admitted at St. Peters- 

 burgh to be the genuine rhubarb. These seeds 

 were soon propagated, and were discovered by 

 De Gorter to produce two distinct species, viz. 

 the Rhabarbarum of LInnaBus, or as it has since 

 been called, undulatum, and another, a specimen 

 of which being presented to Linnaeus, he declared 

 it to be a new one, and Introduced it in his second 

 edition of the Species Plantarum by the name of 

 Rheum palmatum. Previous to this, De Gorter 

 had repe'atedly sent the seeds to Linnaeus, but the 

 young plants which they produced constantly 

 perished ; at length he obtained the fresh root, 

 which succeeded very well at Upsal, and after- 

 wards enabled the younger Linnseus to describe 

 this plant in 1767. 



But two years antecedent to this, Dr. Hope's 

 account of the Rheum palmatum, as it grew in the 

 Botanic Garden near Edinburgh, had been read 

 before the Royal Society in London. The seeds 

 were, first introduced into Britain In 1762, by Dr. 

 Mounsey, who sent them from Russia (Wood- 

 ville) ; arid these seeds were quickly dispersed 

 over the island. Dr. Lettsom, In 1778, says that 

 there is every reason to conclude that Rheum pal- 

 matum is the Turkey or Russia rhubarb. 



The first edition of Miller is entitled The Gar- 

 dener and Florists' Dictionary, or a complete System 

 of Horticulture. By Philip Miller, Gardener of 

 the Botanic Garden at Chelsea, London, 1724, 

 printed for Chas. Rivington, two vols. 8vo. 



R. S. Chabnock. 



Gray's Inn. 



Though unable to give any particulars of 

 " Charles Bryant of Norwich," let me assure Mk. 

 Riley he can have no claim to the introduction 

 of this plant into England. In 1554, the eccentric 

 physician, Andrew Boorde, sent to Mr. Vicar- 

 General Cromwell "the seeds of reuberbe, the 

 which came owtt off" Barbary." And says that — 

 " The seeds be sowne in March thyn, and when 

 they be rootyd they must be takyn off" and sett 

 euery one oflf them a foote or more from another, 



