ELEMENTS OF MATERIA MEDICA.

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rhubarb. The colour of the powder is of a more dull yellow or brow 1,1st

4. Himalayan Rhubarb .—This is the produce probably °^, ^^of-

cast.

Emodi, and Webbianum. The roots of R. spicifonne, and M° 01 c ^_tianum, are lighter coloured, and more compact in structure. My S P t j, emens were furnished by Dr. Wallich, who obtained them IroWinhabitants of the Himalayas , who had strung the pieces aroun oa lnecks of their mules. It has scarcely any resemblance to the olnrhubarb. The pieces are cylindrical, and are cut obliquely at the e.mities ; the cortex of the root is not removed ; the colour is dark bro •with a slight tint of yellow ; they are without odour, and have a cofibrous texture. Dr. Royle ( Illustr. of the Bot. of the Himal. g

p. 316) says that the Himalayan rhubarb makes its way into the p ia 'of India through Kalsee, Almora, and Butan : it has, he adds, a s l'°'^texture, and sells for only one-tenth of the price of the best rimresembling in quality the Russian, and which is found in India .

5. English rhubarb ( radix rhei anglici). —Two kinds of rhubarb , gmet with in the shops under the name of English rhubarb : 0,, . e vejdressed or trimmed, so as to resemble the Russian kind, and is, I be ’ j,the produce of Rheum palmatum ; the other is sometimes called srhubarb, and is said by Messrs. Stephenson and Churchill (e .

vol. i.) to be obtained from Rheum undulatum ; but I suspect this sment to be erroneous. . j.

The dressed English rhubarb is the produce of Banbury, in Osshire. It is the kind frequently observed in the show-bottles of clgists’ windows, and is sometimes sold in Cheapside and the Poult 1 ? ^“ Turkey rhubarb ,” by persons dressed up as Turks. It ocClir ^ er -various-sized and shaped pieces, which are trimmed and frequentlyforated, so as to represent Russian rhubarb: some of the pieces are c )drical in their form, and are evidently segments of cylinders ; othersflat. This kind of rhubarb is very light, spongy (especially 10 jmiddle of the pieces), attractive of moisture, pasty under the pestle?has a reddish or pinkish hue not observed in the Asiatic kinds. * ..

nally it has usually a marbled appearance ; the streaks are pinkish?,rallel, and have a radiated disposition; and in the centre of some 0 jlarger pieces the texture is soft and woolly, and may be easily i nCie ^by the nail. Its taste is astringent and very mucilaginous; it is n jall, or only very slightly, gritty under the teeth ; its odour is feeble? gmore unpleasant than either the Russian or East Indian kinds. , gmicroscope discovers in it, for the most part, very few crystals of oXof lime. rS

The common stick English rhubarb is sold in herb shops. It oC j aI iin angular or roundish pieces, of about five or six inches long? aI \inch thick. When fractured it presents the radiated appearance, ^ ^

red-coloured streaks, of the kind last mentioned. Its taste is astrmo^,but very mucilaginous; it is not gritty under the teeth; it breaks v

short.. _ , ltersl^

English rhubarb is extensively employed by druggists to acim

the powder of Asiatic rhubarb. . t0 .

6. French rhubarb {radix rhei gallici). —This kind of rhubarb lScured from Rheum rhaponticum, undulatum, and especially comp at