Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 2 (1876).djvu/325

Rh the root. This difficulty in the cultivation of the Rheum palmatum induces me to say a few words of a newer importation—the Rheum officinale.

When the importation through Kiakhta ceased, the 'Brack' there was useless, and, therefore, done away with; and the Muscovite—the best Rhubarb—entirely disappeared from the market. Henceforward, the Rhubarb was shipped from the Chinese ports to Europe; and, owing to the absence of a 'Brack,' every commodity, good, bad, or indifferent, found purchasers. The consequence was, that a quantity of inferior, decayed, or badly dried roots, with an admixture of thin pieces cut from the lateral shoots, were introduced into the trade. The quantity of Kan-su Rhubarb likewise diminished in consequence of the disturbed state of that province. But, inasmuch as the need of a good article continued as great as ever, and the demand remained firm, new countries began interesting themselves in its production, and a new and excellent species from the southern provinces of China made its appearance in the markets of Europe. In 1867, the French Consul at Hankau (on the Yang-tse-kiang), M. Dabry, obtained through the Chinese several growing roots of this good Rhubarb, and these he forwarded to Paris, where they arrived certainly in a very bad condition, notwithstanding which, one plant was raised, which blossomed in 1871, and was described by Baillon under the name of Rheum officinale.

This plant exhibited a striking contrast to all kinds of Rheum, in that it formed ramified stalks above ground, a foot long and of great thickness, and as no water can accumulate upon it, it is easily preserved from harm. Baillon considered it an inhabitant of Eastern Tibet, and the only genuine parent-plant of the best Chinese Rhubarb; and Fluckiger and Hanbury, as we have seen, hastily accepted it as such. It is very possible that we may have in this new species a plant which may take the place of the old and less easily cultivated R. palmatum. But I cannot help remarking, that every Rheum hitherto introduced among us, as a