tion.
lbs. lbs.
1826 102,624 32,936
1831 140,395 40,124
1836 122,142 44,468
1841 95,701 67,877
1846 427,694 --
1847 305,736 --
1848 116,005 --
1849 94,914 --

The rhubarb brought into Siberia grows wild in Chinese Tartary,
especially in the province Gansun, on hills, heaths, and meadows, and
is generally gathered in summer from plants of six years of age. "When
the root is dug up, it is washed to free it from earthy particles;
peeled, bored through the centre, strung on a thread, and dried in the
sun. In autumn all the dried rhubarb collected in the province is
brought in horsehair sacks, containing about 200 lbs., to Sinin (the
residence of the dealers), loaded on camels, and sent over Mongolia to
Kiachta, and the ports and capital of China.

Sarsaparilla.--The root of various species of _Smilax_ constitutes the
sarsaparilla of the shops. It is an evergreen climbing undershrub,
having whitish green flowers, and grows readily from suckers. It is a
native of the temperate and tropical regions of Asia and America. The
officinal part is the bark, which comes off from the rhizomes. They
are mucilaginous, bitter, and slightly acid. Sarsaparilla is used in
decoction and infusion as a tonic and alterative. The following are
enumerated as sources whence sarsaparilla of various kinds is derived.

_Smilax China_ and _sagittaefolia_, yielding the Chinese root, are said
to come from the province of Onansi in China.

_S. pseudo China, S. Sarsaparilla, S. rubens_, and _S. Watsoni,_
furnish the drug of North America.

The sarsaparilla distinguished in commerce as the Lisbon or Brazilian
is the root of _S. papyracea_ of Poiret. It is an undershrub, the stem
of which is compressed and angular below, and armed with prickles at
the angles. The leaves are elliptic, acuminate, and marked with three
longitudinal nerves. This species grows principally in the regions
bordering the river Amazon, and on the banks of most of its tributary
streams. It is generally brought from the provinces of Para and
Maranham. It is in large cylindrical bundles, long and straight, and
the flexible stem of the plant is bound round the bundles, so as to
entirely cover them. Its fibres are very long, cylindrical, wrinkled
longitudinally, and furnished with some lateral fibrils. Its color is
of