RHUBARB 



Klirs 



The well-known imtlioinul R. oJKcinalt differs 

 considerably in ap|>earaiice from the kiniU pre- 

 ferred in kitchen ganlcns ; tin- ix-tioleti are nearly 

 round. and tin* mi'lrt -ide of (lie leaf i- cmeic.l 

 with small, erect hair*. The numerous varietic- 

 of commercial rliulmrlt may lie thrown into two 

 group* : (1) Ariiitir liii<il>rit.i Chinese, passing 

 under the name* of Russian, Muscovy or Turkey, 

 Canton or East Indian, liutitviim r Dutch 

 trimmed, yielded probably liy It. vffirimile and 

 a variety of It. /ni/iiinhiin : Silierian, l>y R. 

 rluijtonliruin : Himalayan large, by li. cnuxli, 

 ami Hinall by li. treittiKiiiinn : fiokharan or 

 Bucharian, by 'R. wulnlutiiin. (2) KunifirtiH Rhu- 

 barb* English, by R. r/iit/iontiriim and II. njflriu- 

 ile ; French, by R. rhanonticum, roni/tnrfuui, and 

 iiniiittiitinn: Austrian (Moravian). I'.v /.'. r/ni/mnti- 

 cum. J2.na/in<r/M/ji is believed to produce some of 

 the best Russian rhubarb. Whether R. ofirimilf 

 occurs in Shan-li-i ami S/e ehwati. from which pro- 

 vinces the true rhubarb is chiefly obtained and sent 

 to Hankow, is not definitively known. The export 

 of rlmltarb from China (the so-called Turkey Rhu- 

 barb) has largely increased of late years. The 

 average shipments of the four years ending with 

 1889 were 7500 cwt. per annum, against less than 

 4000 cwt twenty yean* liefore. The Chinese rhu- 

 barb is of very variable quality, whole chests 

 of 1} to 3 cwt. sometimes affording but a few 

 pounds of sound roots. The Shan-hsi rhuliarli 

 use*! to be the best in the market, the roots 

 being large, smooth, and extremely fragrant. It 

 is now, however, of inferior quality, and dried 

 with less care, apparently in ovens, in which case 

 it soon rots in the centre, or is attacked l>y insects. 

 Sze-chwati furni-hes a good and cheap rliulwrb, 

 esteemed in the London market, where it is known 

 as ' high-dried Shanghai rhubarb.' The roots are 

 small, rough on the exterior, deficient in flavour, 

 and when cut give out little scent. The plant 

 from which the Java rhubarb is derived is not 

 known ; it resembles the Chinese in smell and 

 taste, but ite activity is one fourth less. 



The rhubarb plant is distributed through an 

 immense traot of country in the central provinces 

 of China: probably several species yield the same 

 drug. According to Professor Maximowecz, R. 

 palmatum U probably the plant producing the 

 drug whose reputation dates from the time of the 

 Arabian and Greek physicians. It was introduced 

 by Dr Monnsev from Russia to (ireat Britain, and 

 cultivated at Edinburgh by Sir A. Dick prior to 

 1774. (Jarden rhubarb (72. ;7//>H<-i i was in use 

 in England in the time of Charles II. The medi 

 cinal root is now grown extensively in Knglaiid, 

 France, Cermany, Austria, St Petersburg, and 

 other parts of Knrope. It is very difficult to 

 distinguish between the true Chinese rlmliarb 

 and the root obtained in Europe by the culture 

 of various species of Hheum. According to < 'auvet, 

 the European may be distinguished from the 

 exotic by ( 1 ) the rectilinear di-po-ition of its 

 rays, from the centre to t4ie eircmnfaranoe ; (2) 

 the presence upon its circumference of a brown 

 zone, relatively large and csjiecially very distinct : 

 and (3) the absence of the radiated 



( stars) so numerous in the Russian rhubarb, less 

 frequent, but always easy to recognise, in the 

 Chinese. i,, the true rhubarb the r.i\s are 

 dispersed irregularly over the. fractured Mil-face. 

 ^iiinc English rhubarb, probably obtained from //. 

 rliiiiiiiiiti'i-iini, is rc.-idily distinguished from Chinese 

 by lining lew* marbhil upon the fracture, and by 

 the absence of the diamond sha|>d meshes nj>on 

 it* surface. There were formerly three classifies 

 lion* of rhubarb Russian, Turkish, and Chinese 

 or East Indian, lint these are now reduced to 

 E ..... IMMII and ('hiiicfte. lief ore the o|>cning of the 



treaty ports in China most of the rhuWb con- 

 sumed in Europe was obtained front the Chinese 

 at Kiachta. carefully selected and brought overland 

 through Russia, which has entirely lost this prized 

 monopoly, the quantity now eon\cycd there over- 

 land from China luring insignificant. Chinese 

 rlmhurh, received direct, is distinguished by the 

 small sue, dark colour, and irrcgulai slm|>e of the 

 holes with which it is pierced ; by the outer surface 

 being frequently marked with whitish reticulations, 

 which are more evident when tin- |iwder has been 

 rubbed oil'; and by the transverse surface showing 

 a number of star like marks, lint no cortical hm-r. 

 The plant is hardly cultivated in China, but gms 

 wild. The root-stocks are dug up when from 

 six to seven vears old, just before the (lower- 

 ing season. Thev are then ]>celed, cut in lengths 

 measuring 4 to ."> inches. Uireil through the midille, 

 placed on strings and hung up to dry. There is 

 considerable diversity of form in the China rhu- 

 barb, arising from the various o)ierations of par- 

 ing, slicing, and trimming; but these forms are 

 not found in the same package, the drug being 

 usually sorted into what are commonly known as 

 'rounds' and 'flats.' The Indian rhubarb is fre- 

 quent in parts of the 1'unjah Himalayas fiom 

 7000 to 14,(KHI feet. It is less adhe than the im- 

 ported rhubarb, and has been often pronounced 

 worthless; but, according to Dr Watt, this is owing 

 to the fact that an inferior variety reaches the 

 plains. The whole sour stems aic eaten both 

 stewed and raw, while the leaves of this and other 

 species are dried and smoked in Tibet and in the 

 Eastern Himalayas. 



Khnbarb is not individually mentioned now in 

 the official trade returns, but is included with 

 'uneminierated drugs.' Since 1870, when the im- 

 ports were 343,000 IK, and the average prices 

 ranged from 3s. 4d. to 5s. li<l. per IK. the supplies 

 have increased and prices have fallen bv one-half. 

 The production of English grown rhubail) root now 

 amounts to about 1*2,000 Th. annually, of which 

 from three to four thousand pounds are exported. 



Chemically, rhubarb consists of mucilage, oxalate 

 of lime, an albuminoid containing nitrogen and sul- 

 phur, crystalline re-ins, tannin, gallic acid, sugar, 

 clirysophane (decom)Misable into chrysophanic acid 

 and glucose), rheotannic acid, and emodin. 



Rhubarb may 1 briefly descril>ed as a cathartic, 

 an astringent, and a tonic. As a cathartic it 

 chiefly operates by increasing the muscular action 

 of the intestines; and when the cathartic action 

 is over there is generally more or less constipation. 

 Hhubarb is one of the* best a per ient- for general 

 use in infancy, in consequence of the certainty of 

 its action, and of its tonic and astringent pro- 

 perties, which are of much importance in the treat- 

 ment of many infantile diseases attended with 

 impeifcct digestion and irritation of the intestinal 

 canal. In adults it is serviceable in chronic 

 diarrlnca and dysentery, when it is expedient to 

 clean out the liowels. It is also a useful aperient 

 in convalescence from exhausting disease, as l,eing 

 free from the risk of overacting ; and. for the same 

 reason, it is a useful medicine for pcr-on- \\ ho are 

 const itutionally liable to over-purgation from trivial 



causes. 



Rllllddllin, a decayed town of Flint -hire, 

 Ninth Wales, on (he Clwyd, :) miles SSE. of 

 Ithyl. Its mined castle, dating from IOI.~>. anil 

 dismantled after its capture by the Itoundhcads in 

 1646, was the scene of the betrayal of Richard II. 

 by Percy ( 1399) ; at the marsh of Mm fa Khuddlan, 

 across the river, Offa defeated Caradoc (7!>">l. 

 With Flint, &c., Khuddlan returns a member to 

 parliament. Pop. 1242. 



Ulms. See SUMACH. 



