180 D. Hooper — Rusot : an ancient Eastern Medicine. [No. 4, 



In Bombay the price is Rs. 8 to 9 per maund of 37^ ib. In Madras the 

 wholesale price is Rs. 35 per maund, and retails in tlie bazar at 

 Rs. 2-4 per pound. 



Dr. E. Solly further contributed a paper on " The Yellow Colour 

 of Barberry and its use in the Arts" (Journ. 'Boy. As. Soc, XIII (1844), 

 also Journ. Agri.-Horti, Soc. Ind., iii., 272). He reported that 17 per 

 cent, of yellow colouring matter was obtainable from the roots, and 

 suggested experiments being made in India to determine which part of 

 the plant was richest in extract. According to Aitchison the extract 

 is still used in West Afghanistan as a dyeing material. 



Lest any hope should be entertained that Rusot might possess some 

 commercial value as a dye-stuff, I would quote the opinion of an expert in 

 the person of Mr. A. Gr. Perkin, of the Clothworkers Research Depart- 

 ment, Leeds. In 1897, Mr. Perkin had occasion to examine the root of 

 Berheris Oetnensi$ from Cyprus. He reported {Journ. Ghem. Soc. LXXI. 

 1198), that the colouring matter was due to berberine of which he sepa- 

 rated nearly one per cent, of the hydrochloride. Silk was dyed a yellow 

 shade without the use of a mordant, but ordinary mordanted calico 

 was not dyed owing to the basic nature of the colouring principle. He 

 adds, " As a colouring matter, the use of berberine has been practically 

 discontinued, so that the tinctorial properties of the root have but little 

 commercial value." 



The three species of Indian Barberry that are used in preparing 

 the extract called Rusot are — 



1. The Nepal Barberry {Berheris aristata, DC), a variable species 

 occurring in the temperate regions of the Himalaya at 6,000 to 10,000 

 feet elevation, also found in the Nilgiri Hills and Ceylon. 



2. The Ophthalmic Barberry {B. Lycium, Royle,) an erect, rigid 

 shrub found in dry hot situations of the western part of the Himalaya 

 range at 3,000 feet above the sea level. 



3. The Indian Barberry {B. asiatica, Roxb.). This species has a 

 wider distribution than the last, being found in the dry valleys of 

 Bhutan and Nepal whence it stretches westward along the Himalaya to 

 Gharwhal, and occurs again in Afghanistan. 



The extract is obtained by digesting in water slices of the bark, 

 root and twigs for a few hours, then boiling, straining and evaporating 

 to a soft consistence. Capt. H. W. Lowther describes in Journal Agri- 

 Horticultural Society of India,^ the preparation of the inspissated juice 

 of Berheris aristata at Hawalbagh in Kumaon. The fresh roots of the 

 Barberry were chopped into small pieces with a hatchet. About ten 



I Vol. IX., (1857) p. 353. 



