558 
FOURTH BULLETIN OF 
The nutmeg from which the oil has been extracted is sometimes offered, but they 
are of no use or value. 
Olibanum.—This is the frankincense of the ancients, and is used in China, as in 
other countries, for incense in temples and perfumery in houses. It is yielded by 
the juniperus lycia, a large tree which gr ws in Arabia and India, It is seen in 
market in tears of a pink color, brittle and adhesive. The boxes each contain one 
hundred weight of garbled olibanum which sells at six dollars per pecul : and the 
ungarbled, at two dollars and three dollars per pecul in the Canton markets. 
Pepper.— This is the fruit of the piper nigrum. That brought from Sumatra 
and Penang is superior to that which comes from Java and Borneo. The pepper 
trade is larger than all the other spices, and solely because it is a free trade. Much 
comes to Canton from Malacca. It sells from six dollars to sixteen dollars per pecul. 
Putchuck.—This is a medicine brought from India and Persia, and is the root of 
an undetermined plant in those countries. The color and smell are similar to 
rhubarb, and when chewed, it becomes mucilaginous in the mouth. The price 
varies from twenty to twenty-two dollars per pecul. 
Rattans.—These are the branches of the calamus ratang, the same plant that 
produces the dragon’s blood. They are found in most of the islands of the Indian 
Archipelago, but in the greatest perfection in the district of Banjerwassen in Bor¬ 
neo. The young shoots are the most valuable for their pliability and strength. 
After being stripped of their epidermis, the rattans are doubled and tied up in bun¬ 
dles, containing one hundred each. As they require no culti vation, the natives 
can afford to sell them at. a very cheap rate. They are brought to Canton in junks, 
and sell from two and a half to four and a half dollars per pecul. Foreign vessels 
also bring them. The Chinese use them for cordage, chairs, mats, beds, &ic. 
Rattan ropes, bamboo timbers, and palm leaf boards aia all the materials employed 
in constructing a common house in China for the poor. 
Rhubarb.—This drug is the dried roots of the rheum palmatum, a plant which 
grows in Tartary and China. The Chinese dig the roots early in the spring, before 
the leaves appear, and cut them into long flat pieces ; dry them for two or three 
days, and then string them on cords, put them in cool places, and dry them 
thoroughly. Rhubarb varies in its prices, from thirty-eight to forty dollars per pecul 
for those roots cured without splitting, and fifty to seventy dollars per pecul for the 
cut. The rhubarb found in this market has always been inferior to that of Russia 
and Turkey. 
Rice.—This is the great staple commodity among the Chinese, and the importa¬ 
tion of it is encouraged by all possible means. Formosa, Luconia, Cochin China, 
and the Indian islands supply China with great quantities. To induce foreign 
shipping to bring it to this market, the government has permitted all ships laden 
solely with cargoes of rice to pass free of the cumsha and measurement duties re¬ 
quired at Canton. The price given for a cargo of rice varies from one dollar twenty 
five to two dollars twenty-five, rising in seasons of scarcity to two dollars seventy- 
five, and for very good three dollars per pecul. 
Rose maloes.—This is a substance of the consistence of tar- It is brought from 
Persia and India to China, and when good has a pearly appearance. The price is 
about thirty dollars per pecul. 
Sandal wood.—This is the heart of a small tree, the santalum album, which 
grows in India and many of the islands of the Indian and Pacific oceans. The 
tree resembles myrrh in size and appearance, the flowers are red and the berries' 
black and juicy. The color varies from a light red to a dark yellow. The deepest 
color is the best. The best sandal-wood comes from the Malabar coast, and sells 
from ten to eighteen dollars a pecul. That brought from Timor is worth from 
eight to ten dollars, while that found in the Sandwich islands is valued at from one 
to six dollars. The chips also form another sort. The Chinese use sandal-wood 
in the form of a fine powder made into incense sticks to burn in their temples and 
houses. An oil is extracted from sandal-wood, which is highly valued for its aro¬ 
matic qualities. It has the consistence of castor-oil, a yellow color and a highly 
fragrant odor, and sinks in water. 
Sapan-wood.—This is the wood of the cacsalpina sapan, a tree which grows in 
India, Luconia, and Burmah. The tree is of the same genus as the Brazil-wood, 
and has the same properties in an inferior degree, and on that account is not irn- 
