294 XOTES. 



ments, that no roots under eight years' growth furnished a 

 good drug; and that, even with these, much depended on the 

 time of gathering, the after-treatment, and especially the 

 drying ; further, it appeared that only the parent root and 

 not the branches furnished the strongest medicine ; but as 

 the former was liable to decay, the cultivation was difficult. 

 Such were among the principal causes which combined to 

 disappoint the expectations which had been formed of the 

 garden rhubarb. An opinion, moreover, gained ground 

 among merchants as well as among physicians, that the 

 Chinese quality was superior. Nevertheless R. palmatitm 

 w^uld have gradually made its way, had not doubts of its 

 being the parent plant of the genuine Rhubarb soon been 

 expressed direct from Russia. Pallas showed the Chinese in 

 Kiakhta dried specimens oi R. palmatum, and believed their 

 assurances that this was not the true plant, but that it was 

 smaller, and had an undivided leaf, besides other falsehoods. 



Sievers, who travelled, between 1791-1795, along the 

 whole Siberian-Chinese frontier, by order of the Russian 

 Government, to study the Rhubarb question, also heard 

 a confirmation of the same story from the Chinese in 

 Kiakhta. Relying on these statements, they asserted that 

 the original plant of the genuine Rhubarb was still un- 

 known. This, doubtless, gave a severe blow to the cultiva- 

 tion of R. palmahim ; and as another Indian species {^R. 

 australc) was about this time introduced into England, 

 which appeared to answer better to the Chinese description, 

 everyone turned their attention to it, and R. palmatum 

 gradually disappeared from our gardens. It was soon 

 evident that R. australc furnished but a bad root, and many 

 authorities, especially Guibourt, луеге firm in their support 

 of the R. palmatum as the only kind which at all equalled 

 in appearance and property the genuine Chinese root ; but 

 the mischief was done and could not be easily repaired, for 

 though the interest was still as great as ever, it had become 

 extremely difficult to procure a fresh supply of plants. 



It was reserved for Lieut. -Col. Prcjcvalsky to decide 

 finall}' the I'cxata qiuestio of the parent plant of the 



