VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 17 



and more aromatic flavor. The Customs Lists classify Tang- 

 shen f^, ^) as Canipanumoea pilosula^ and it is possible that 

 the T'u-tang-shen (i '% #), mentioned above, is not the same, 

 although supplying a root similar in appearance and quality 

 to the former. It is met with in long, slender, tapering, pale 

 yellow pieces, slightly twisted. They are about five inches 

 in length, much smaller than Fang-tang-shen (|J5 % ^), 

 which they very much resemble, being wrinkled or furrowed 

 longitudinally and transversely. The interior is brittle, brown- 

 ish-yellow, open in structure, and with a lighter central pith. 

 The taste is sweetish and slightly mucilagenous, resembling 

 that of malt. The Customs Lists also give Ming-tang-sh8a 

 (B^ % ^), 853, and say that this is the Chi-ni (^ ~^, and 

 that it is quite different from Tang-shen (^ ^), 1251. On 

 the supposition that Tang-shen is from a species of true ginseng, 

 this would be correct. But even these lists give the origin of 

 Tang-shen from the CampanulacecB ^ and, if there is any dis- 

 tinction, it would be between the different genera or species 

 of this order, e.g., Codonopsis lanceolata and Ca7npa7iunioea 

 pilosula. Ming-tang (Bfl ^), or ''clear ginseng from Shang- 

 tang," is found in hard pieces of four inches in length, taper- 

 ing at both ends like a cigar ; one end being truncated and the 

 other pointed. The cuticle is of a yellowish color, stained 

 with reddish points, marked with fine lines or furrows, and 

 the interior hard, white, porous, and easily separated from the 

 translucent cortical part. Tang-shen (^ ^) is distinguished 

 in commerce by several special designations, indicating its 

 source or the manner of packing. Among these is Fang-tang 

 (§5 ^)» ^Iso called Fang-tang-shen (jJJ ^ ^) and Fang-feng- 

 tang-shen (|55 M %. #)• This is the kind that comes from 

 Hupeh, and is described by Porter Smith as follows: "This 

 is a drug met with in bundles of long, tapering, angular 

 pieces, of dirty-brown color, marked with wrinkles and fissures, 

 or transverse rings. They average about a foot in length, and 

 are more or less tough or brittle, according to age. There 

 are remnants of the radicles at the thicker, or lower ends. 

 The cross section is of a lighter color, showing the same open, 

 plicated arrangement of the woody tissue as the Sha-shen 

 {W ^)) with a firmer central pith of a yellow color. The two 



