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Notices of Books. 



[Oct. 



tains surrounding lake Kokonor. Bell also learnt that it was the pro- 

 duce of Mongolia, and Marco Polo, of Succuir, in Tanguth. Dr. 

 Rehman ascertained that the trade is in the hands of one Bucharian. 

 family, who farm the manopoly from the Chinese government, and 

 reside at Si-ning, a Chinese town on the very frontiers of Tibet, 3,000 

 verstes from Kiakhta, and twenty days' journey from Kian-sin and 

 Schan-sin, Tangutian towns, where the Bueharians go to purchase 

 rhubarb. This would bring the rhubarb country within 95° of E. 

 long, in 35° of N. latitude, that is, into the heart of Tibet. As no na- 

 turalist has visited this part, and neither seeds nor plants have been 

 obtained thence, it is as yet unknown what species yields this rhubarb. 

 Pallas thinks it may be R. compactum, as the leaves are said to be round 

 and toothed; the rhubarb merchants, to whom he showed the plant, did 

 not know R. palmatum. Both these were obtained from China and 

 Tartary, as well as R. tataricum and undulatum. It is probable, there- 

 fore, that some of these yield a portion of the rhubarb of commerce, 

 as they have some of very good quality, when cultivated in England 

 and France. But as it is improbable, from the nature of the country 

 that the best rhubarb is confined within very narrow limits, it becomes 

 interesting to ascertatn how near it approaches the British territories 

 in India, in order to share in the trade, or attempt the cultivation. 



" That this might very reasonably be undertaken within the British 

 territories, will be apparent from the distribution of rhubarb in the 

 Himalayas. Passing from Hindookhoosh, where is found Rheum Ribes 

 (ribas of the Persians), mentioned by Chardin, &c, more recently by 

 Lieut. Burnes, who also met with rhubarb at Caubul and Bokhara j 

 we find rhubarb common in the Himalayas, as on Choor, near Jum- 

 notree, on Jacho in Kemaon, Gossainthan in Nepal, and near Tassi- 

 sudon in Butan, that is, from 30° to 27°, and from E. long. 79° to 89°, and 

 at elevations of 9,000 and 10,000 feet. Mr. Moorcroft discovered 

 rhubarb at Niti, and next day between Niti and Gotung, that is, at 

 elevations of 12,000 feet. His companion, Major Hearsay, thought he 

 saw three kinds, and has described two of them to me, one round-leaved 

 and long-stalked, and the other short-stalked, but large and broad- 

 leaved (/?. Moorcroftianum, nob.), with the root more purgative than 

 that of the former. These are called doelooh or dooloo by the Bhoteas, 

 and tantara (Webb), rantra (Hearsay). One of these appears to be the 

 rhubarb described by Dr. Meisner under the name R. Emodi (R. Web- 

 bianum, nob.), which differs from the original R. Emodi, described by 

 Mr. Don, under the name R. Australe. If we turn our attention to the 

 northern face of the Himalaya, which has so many features of a Tatarian 

 climate, we find R. spiciforme, nob., discovered by Mr. Inglis on the 

 Kherang Pass, and at several places beyond. Dr. Gerard describes the 

 table-land of Tatary as covered w T ith rhubarb, at elevations of 16,000 



