376 GROWTH AND PREPARATION OF RHUBARB IN CHINA. 
made, by personal inquiry and research, to discover the source and exact 
localities of the Chinese rhubarb plant, which have only resulted in deception 
and disappointment, we have in great measure neglected to avail ourselves of 
the more reliable information contained in Chinese books and manuscripts 
intended for the use and instruction of the Chinese themselves. An oppor¬ 
tunity of obtaining such information was recently afforded me by Mr. Lock¬ 
hart, who kindly supplied me with some valuable Chinese books, from which 
I extracted the facts which I have recorded at page 269 of Pereira’s * Manual 
of Materia Medica.’ This information respecting the various localities of the 
rhubarb plant was sufficiently interesting to induce me to make further in¬ 
quiries through the same channel. Mr. Lockhart undertook to convey my 
wishes to China, and if possible to obtain either the leaf, flower, or fruit of 
the plant itself. He failed to obtain these, as, like others, he had often tried 
and failed before ; but he procured from the Pev. Griffith John, a missionary 
residing at Hankow, the following extracts from the ‘ Pun-tsau,’ or Chinese 
Herbal, which, as well as the ‘ Pieh-luh,’ which it quotes, is a work of good 
authority. TV u-pu, Tau-hung-king, Ixung, Su-sung, and Sung-ki are 
Chinese writers. I am indebted to Mr. John for the translation. The notes 
are added by Mr. Lockhart. 
I give the extracts from the £ Pun-tsau ’ exactly as I received them, that 
they may be available to others as well as myself: but to make them more 
intelligible I have subsequently rearranged and condensed them, and have 
finally drawn from them a few conclusions. 
Extract from the £ Pun-tsau .’ 
1- In the £ Pieh-luh ’ it is stated that rhubarb grows in valleys west of the 
Aellow Piver, and in the district of Lung-si in the province of Shen-si. The 
root is extracted in the second and the eighth months, and dried by means of 
artificial heat. 
2. Wn-ypu says: As to the rhubarb which grows in Si-cliwan (Sz-chuen), 
and probably Lung-si, in the second month* its closed leaves are of a deep 
yellowish colour, and its stalk is more than 3 feet (Chinesef) high. In the 
third month the flower is yellow ; in the fifth month the seed is black ; and in 
the eighth month the root is extracted. The root, which contains a jmllowish 
sap, is cut up in slices and dried in the shade ( i . e. without either sun or arti¬ 
ficial heat). 
3. Tau-hung-Icing says that the Si-chwan rhubarb is not equal in quality to 
that of Lung-si in Shen-si; that it is very bitter in taste, and extremely 
black in colour ; that that which is dried in the shade in the west of Si-chwan 
is superior to that which is dried in the sun in the north of the same pro¬ 
vince ; and that that which is dried by means of artificial heat is slightly 
charred, and not equal to the rhubarb in the west of the province in resisting 
the woodworm. 
„ 4. Kung says that the leaf and stalk of the rhubarb resemble those of the 
A ang-ti plant. Its stalk, which grows to the height of 6 or 7 feet, is crisp 
and sour, and may be chewed raw. The leaf is coarse, long, and thick ; the 
root is red, and resembles that of the Yang-ti plant; its shape is like a basin, 
and it is about 2 feet long ; its nature is soft and moist, and it is easily destroyed 
by the woodworm. That which is dried by means of artificial heat is best. 
It is dried thus :—A stone is heated, and on it are placed the roots cut in 
horizontal slices about an inch thick. Being thus heated for a day, they be¬ 
come a little dry. A hole is then made in each piece, through which they are 
Ihe C hinese months are lunar, the first beginning in February or March.—L. 
1" I he Chinese foot is about 13 inches. It varies from 121 to 14.—L. 
