254 
Cultivation  of  Rhubarb  in  France. 
j  Am.  Jour.  Pharm, 
\      May,  1881. 
Every  second  year,  in  July  or  August,  according  to  the  season  and 
the  growth  of  the  plant,  the  roots  or  prolonged  stems  were  collected, 
and  from  these  stalks  a  considerable  number  of  offsets  or  buds  were 
separated  with  a  knife.  The  offshoots  were  then  planted  quincuncially 
in  well-prepared  soil,  with  a  clear  interval  of  a  meter  between  each. 
As  soon  as  the  rainy  and  cold  season  set  in  these  offsets  commenced  to 
develop,  and  continued  during  the  autumn,  forming  rounded  roots, 
which  have  supported  the  severest  cold  of  the  district,  reaching  13° 
below  zero. 
Last  year  M.  Gallais  possessed  eighteen  plants,  which,  when  pulled 
lip,  cleansed  and  dried,  yielded  28  kilograms  of  product,  described  as 
being  of  good  quality,  and  samples  of  which  were  exhibited  to  the 
Society.  The  gathering  and  drying,  however,  are  looked  upon  by  M. 
Gallais  as  more  important  operations  than  even  the  cultivation. 
In  the  month  of  August  the  leaves  of  the  plant  become  completely 
dry,  and  a  period  arrives  when  usually  the  soil  surrounding  the  stem 
cracks  and  exposes  the  enormous  roots.  It  is  just  at  this  time  of 
apparent  stagnation  .  that  M.  Gallais  pulls  up  the  roots  and  divides 
them  most  artistically  into  pieces  to  imitate  those  imported,  w^hether 
from  Tartary,  Russia  or  Persia.'^  These  pieces  are  cleansed  carefully 
and  thrown  at  once  into  clean  water  that  has  been  acidulated  by  some 
vinegar  or  a  few  drops  of  sulphuric  acid,  in  order  to  prevent  their 
becoming  blackened  or  taking  a  bad  color  through  exposure  to  the  air. 
After  a  momentary  immersion  they  are  drained  on  hurdles  and  placed 
immediately  in  a  stove  at  a  temperature  of  30°C.  This  operation 
has  for  its  object  to  form  a  hard  casing  around  the  pieces,  to  compress 
the  juice  and  to  prevent  mouldiness  and  consequent  fermentation, 
^fter  some  days  of  continued  drying,  the  pieces  are  strung  upon  cords 
so  as  to  form  large  chaplets,  and  these  are  hung  in  a  bake-house  or 
kitchen  chimney,  or,  when  the  quantity  makes  it  worth  while,  in  a 
stove.  It  is  said  that  the  Tartars  attach  small  chaplets  of  rhubarb  to 
the  horns  of  their  goats  and  sheep,  and  thus  dry  them  by  exposure  to 
the  sun's  rays.  M.  Gallais  thinks,  however,  that  another  account  is 
more  correct,  which  says  that  the  rhubarb,  cut  into  fragments  and 
cleansed,  is  placed  by  the  natives  upon  slowly  heated  stones,  and  care- 
fully turned  from  time  to  time,  being  afterwards  strung  to  complete 
the  drying  process.  He  is  inclined  to  believe,  however,  that  a  quicker 
drying  would  be  preferable,  and  proposes  to  place  some  of  his  next 
yield  in  an  oven  immediately  after  the  removal  of  the  bread. 
