GROWTH  AND  PREPARATION  OF  RHUBARB  IN  CHINA.  155 
taste,  and  extremely  black  in  color ;  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  province  ;  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  Yang-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  become  a  little  dry.  A  hole 
is  then  made  in  each  piece,  through  which  they  are  strung 
together  like  cash.*  The  root  thus  cut  and  partially  dried  is 
then  hung  up  in  the  shade  till  it  becomes  perfectly  dry  and  fit 
for  market.  The  rhubarb  which  grows  in  Shen-si,  Kan-suh,  and 
in  the  westof  Si-chwan,  is  all  of  good  quality.  That  which  grows 
*n  Shan-si,  Chil-li,  and  other  places  to  the  north  of  these,  is 
smaller  in  size,  and  not  equal  to  that  of  Si-chwan  in  point  of 
strength.  What  Tau-hung-king  says  about  the  Si-chwan  rhubarb 
being  inferior  to  that  of  Lung-si  is  a  mistake. 
5.  Su-sung  says,  that  rhubarb  grows  everywhere  in  Si-chwan, 
east  of  the  Yellow  river,  and  in  Shen-si.  The  Si-chwan  rhubarb 
is  fine-grained.  Next  comes  that  of  Shen-si.  The  plant  of  the 
latter  produces  green  leaves  in  the  first  month,  which  resemble 
those  of  the  Pima  (Ricinus  Oo?nmunis,  Linn.),  and  are  as  large 
as  a  fan.  The  root  resembles  a  Chinese  potato,  f  the  largest 
being  the  size  of  a  basin,  and  from  one  to  two  feet  long.  In  the 
fourth  month  a  yellow  flower  opens ;  in  the  second  and  eighth 
months  the  root  is  extracted,  and  the  black  skin  which  covers  it 
*  Cash  is  a  foreign  name  for  Chinese  copper  coins,  called  tung-tseen, 
with  a  square  hole  in  the  centre. — L. 
f  The  Chinese  potato  is  the  Dioscorea  Batatas,  or  white  Yam,  a  long 
cylindrical  root  which  has  been  recently  introduced  into  .England. — L. 
