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tries whence this useful drug is obtained. The first is brought to us in 
oblong pieces, flatfish on one side and convex on the other, compact, hard, 
heavy, internally of a dull red colour, variegated with yellow and white, and 
when recently powdered appears yellow. The artful Chinese are in the habit 
of cementing the fine yellow powder of the young roots over the larger pieces, 
or even colouring them with the yellow dye of the buckthorn berry, or gam¬ 
boge, which are dangerous drastic purges. The second is esteemed the most, 
and comes to us in roundish pieces, with, a large hole through the middle of 
each; it is softer, and when broken present many streaks of a bright red 
colour. 
The first account we have of the Rhubarb being raised in England is from 
P arkinson, who says u he received the seeds from Asia in 1629, from beyond 
the seas, by a worthy gentleman, Dr. Lister , and the Rhapontic Rhubarb first 
grew with him before it was ever seen or known elsewhere in England.” This 
was long supposed to be the true Rhubarb, until the waved or undulated 
Rhubarb (Rheum undulatum) was discovered. .Fins was laised 111 the 
Leyden Botanic Garden, and the seeds were sent by the great Roerliaave to 
our famous Gardener Miller in \J 6 Q, by the title of the true Chinese Rhubarb 
(Rhabasbarum Chinese Verum), which succeeded very well, and Lin* 
neeus fixed on it the appellation of the true Rhubarb (Rheum Rhabarba- 
rum). But in order to ascertain what the Turkey Rhubarb was, which comes 
from Thibet mountains in Tartary, the great Roerliaave got from a Tartarian 
rhubarb merchant the seeds of the plants which produced the roots that he 
annually sold, and were admitted at St. Petersburgh to be the genuine Rhu¬ 
barb. These seeds were soon propagated, and were discovered by him to 
produce two distinct species, namely, the undulated Rhubarb (Rhabarba- 
rum) of Linnaeus, or as it has since been called, Rheum undulatum; and 
another, a specimen of which being presented to Linnaeus, he declared it to 
be a new one, and introduced it in his second edition of the Species Planta- 
rum by the name of pahnated Rhubarb (Rheum palmatum). Previous 
to this Dr. Gorter had repeatedly sent the seeds to Linnaeus, but the young 
plants which they produced constantly perished; at length he obtained the 
fresh root, which succeeded very well at Upsal, and afterwards enabled the 
younger Linnaeus to describe this plant in the year 1 7 ^ 7 - ^ wo }’ ears 
antecedent to this, Dr. Hope’s account of the palmated Rhubarb , as it grew 
in the botanic garden near Edinburgh, had been read before the Royal Society 
