7° A COMPENDIUM OF 
The Turkish rhubarb is now no longer found in 
the stores of the pharmacist, the Russian hav- 
ing supplied its place in name and use. In 
selecting rhubarb we should make choice of 
those pieces which are moderately heavy and of 
a handsome brown color; when broken or cut 
they should exhibit a line of colored veins ap- 
proximating a hue of yellow, red and white. 
The odor is aromatic and agreeable to many, 
but bitter and astringent and somewhat gritty 
to the taste, staining the saliva yellow. When 
porous, light in weight and apparently worm- 
eaten, it should be thrown aside as compara- 
tively worthless, 
Rhubarb root occurs in various-sized pieces 
and usually irregular in shape, frequently in 
disks sawed for the pharmacist, and also to be 
had in square or oblong blocks, These are both 
convenient shapes for selling and for the use of 
customers. Care should be exercised in buying 
the powder as it is liable to adulteration. It 
should have all the characteristics of the solid 
Toot. Rhubarb, according to the most recent 
analysis, contains starch, tannin, crystals of ox- 
alate of lime, emodin, pheoretin and aporetin, 
which is said to be uncrystallizable, chrysophan 
and chrysophanic acids. The latter named prin- | 
ciples yield with alkalies a red or brown red 
color. Chrysophan is of a deep yellow color, 
soluble in water and alcohol, yielding with dilute 
acids and sugar chrysophanic acid. Although 
many of the alkaloids are attainable, none as yet 
have been considered of sufficient importance to 
be kept as remedial agents, with the exception 
of the chrysophanic acid, which is variously 
