Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 2 (1876).djvu/106

84 might be reopened by a well-equipped caravan provided with an escort of ten well-armed men.

The first process in preparing the rhubarb is to cut off the lateral offshoots, removing the outer rind with a knife, and cutting the root into pieces, which are threaded on strings and suspended in the shade to dry, generally under the roof of a house, where the air circulates freely: if dried in the sun it is spoiled.

The plant grows at an elevation of 10,000 feet above the level of the sea, very rarely above that limit, and mostly preferring the ravines, with a rich loamy soil and northern aspect. It seldom grows on the southern slopes or on the bare mountain.

The Tangutans sometimes sow it in the gardens adjoining their dwellings, propagating it by means of seeds and young plants. It may be sown in autumn or early spring, but the soil must be fine, carefully sifted black mould. The third year after sowing the root is about the thickness of a man's fist, and in about eight or ten years it attains maturity. It is sown by the natives in small quantities as a medicine for themselves and their cattle. It is not cultivated largely, probably owing to the abundance of the wild plant. I feel certain that it might be successfully cultivated in many parts of Russia, as for instance on the Amur, the Baikal, the Oural, and the Caucasus; and experiments will probably be made with the seeds I brought home and sent to the Botanical Gardens.

It also grows in the mountains south of Lake