462 



RHE 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



RHE 



general it appears, that twenty grains of the seeds are equal 

 to thirty of the root, as to the purgative power: that the 

 residuum of the seeds is nearly equal in this respect to their 

 powder, according with what has been discovered concerning 

 the residuum of the root; but that the proof spirit extracted 

 less from the seeds than from the root, by way of tincture. 

 The seeds appeared to be more aromatic than the root, but 

 to contain less astringency than even its residuum, when 

 treated in the same manner. A selenetic salt has been disco- 

 vered to be a constituent principle in Rhubarb, among other 

 astringent vegetables ; and it has been pronounced a combi- 

 nation of the acid of Wood-sorrel with a calcareous earth. 

 Some writers affirm, that the distilled water of this plant con- 

 tains a purgative quality; but this needs confirmation. The 

 chemical and medicinal properties of the residuum; the elastic 

 fluid extricated by distillation; the essential salt, already 

 mentioned ; and the astringent principle ; may all deserve the 

 attention of a curious observer, and may throw new light on 

 the medicinal qualities of this important drug. Dr. Pulteney 

 remarks, that if this species and the first be planted near 

 each other, they produce a hybrid variety, more valuable 

 than the parent plants. Propagation and Culture. It ap- 

 pears to be the general opinion, that the same soil which is 

 fit for Carrots will suit Rhubarb. It may be doubted whe- 

 ther manure should or should not be used ; the prevailing 

 notion seems to be that dung injures the quality of the root, 

 and that it will be best on good sound land well worked. 

 Dr. Mounsey directs the seeds to be sown in April or May, 

 three or four in a pot, which should be plunged in a hot- 

 bed until they vegetate. When the plants are about two 

 months old, transplant them where they are to remain in a 

 fine light soil. Keep some of them in pots until October. 

 and some till the spiing following, and then plant them out. 

 When by these precautions you have secured a sufficient 

 number of plants, the seeds may be sown in the open aLr : 

 if they vegetate late in the season, cover them with mulch 

 or moss, to preserve them in winter. When they are trans- 

 planted, set the plants at least four feet asunder; hoe them, 

 keep them clean, and turn up the ground yearly between the 

 rows, taking care not to touch the roots. In the second or 

 third year the plants will begin to bear seeds. The earliest 

 period at which the roots are useful, is at four years' growth, 

 but even then they will be soft and spongy ; so that if they 

 remain eight years or more undisturbed, it will add greatly 

 to their perfection. The seeds, however, do not require a 

 hot -bed to make them vegetate; but if sown in the natural 

 ground during the spiing, when the weather is open, will 

 goon come up, and thrive very fast. The plant delights in 

 a moist, rich, light, deep soil, and warm exposure, but will 

 thrive in almost any soil or situation. If the roots be covered 

 with litter, or the earth be drawn over them in winter, they 

 will rise the stronger in the following spring. The nursery- 

 bed must be diligently attended to, as the whole difficulty 

 consists in bringing the plants through their first season: if 

 the weather be hot and sultry, they must be shaded, and at 

 all events continually watered. The pains bestowed by con- 

 stant waterings, and protecting the young plants from the 

 ravages of insects, will amply repay the planter. Roots that 

 thrive well here, will in three years overtake others, that have 

 not succeeded so well at the end of five. When a plantation 

 is to be formed, or a vacancy filled up, select the finest and 

 most thrifty plants ; and remember that no plant will come 

 to any thing, if it have lost its principal bud. When a plan- 

 tation does not possess the natural advantage of being on a 

 declivity, narrower beds and deepened trenches are among 

 the best means to be adopted : but most situations will require 



some care to prevent the bad effects of water remaining oa 

 the crowns of the plants ; therefore when the seed-stalks are 

 cut off, which ought alway* to be done immediately upon 

 the withering of the radical leaves, they should be covered 

 with mould in the form of a hillock. This process will 

 answer two good purposes ; that of throwing off the rain, and 

 keeping the trenches open by taking the earth from them. 

 Till the plants have blown, the medical qualities of the roots 

 scarcely come into existence; and at the same period the 

 danger of delay also commences. When the buds from the 

 roots have grown up and flowered, a cavity is formed in the 

 centre of the plant, in which rain will make a lodgment, to 

 the inevitable destiuction of those parts which remain unpro- 

 tected. Those portions of the crown, out of which the seed- 

 stalks rise, always r- ove most valuable. Every spring and 

 autumn the plaiua should undergo a general examination. 

 The young ones will presently discover their real situation; 

 for either their leaves will wither as fast as they are produced, 

 or their growth will become stunted : but with regard to the 

 older ones, or those that have blown, as in most cases there 

 will be discovered enough sound root to produce a luxuriant 

 foliage, their state can only be discovered by pressing a fin- 

 ger into the centre of the crown ; which will soon detect any 

 unsound ness. In both cases the plants should be removed, 

 and the vacancies filled with others; for in the former case 

 much time will be saved, and the bad] situation of the latter 

 by remaining will only be aggravated, whilst it furnishes the 

 cultivator with an opportunity of discovering the cause of 

 such defects, which may possibly lead him to the means of 

 prevention. Rhubarb may be propagated from offsets, as well 

 as from seeds. A gentleman who was disappointed in raising 

 plants from seed, separated some of the eyes or buds which 

 shoot out on the upper part of the root, together with a small 

 part of the root itself, having some of the fibres attached ; 

 which succeeded. These offsets may be taken from roots of 

 three or four years old, without injuring the plant. By this 

 met'hod a year is saved ; and these offsets are not in such 

 danger of being devoured by vermin as those from seed, nor 

 so uncertain in growing; these are beside not so tender, and 

 do not require transplanting, nor any thing but weeding: 

 there is said to be no difference in the size of the roots thus 

 raised. There is a great difference of opinion among those 

 who have written upon this subject, as to the age at which the 

 Rhubarb roots ought to be taken up for use : some say at four, 

 five, six, seven, and some at eleven or twelve years' growth. 

 As to the season for taking them up, as the late Dr. Lettsom 

 observes, it may be of little consequence, as to the vigour of 

 the roots, whether they be taken up in summer or autumn, 

 but, as warm weather is the best for drying tnem, the former 

 seems most eligible. Sir William Fordyce directs, that a 

 soon as the root is dug up, it should be washed thoroughly 

 clean, the fibres taken away, and not a particle of bark left 

 on the larger roots. Cut these into pieces seven inches 

 square, as nearly as they will admit of, and an inch and a half 

 thick. Make a hole in the middle of each, about half an 

 inch square, and string them on a packthread, with a knot 

 on each, at such a distance as to keep them from rubbing or 

 entangling. Thus secured, hang them up in festoons in the 

 warm air of a kitchen, laundry, or stove, till the superfluou* 

 moisture is exhaled, to prevent their becoming mouldy or 

 musty. They may be afterwards dried more at leisure, and, 

 when quite dry, may be wrapped separately in cotton, and 

 kept in wide-mouthed bottles. The tap-roots and parings 

 will make excellent tinctures. In Tartary, the mode of dry- 

 ing is as follows: The root being completely cleansed, and 

 the smaller branches cut off, is cut transversely into pieces of 



