| East Indian. lbs. | Foreign. lbs. | |
| 1835 | 32,515 | 10,647 |
| 1836 | 36,836 | 7,752 |
| 1837 | 44,669 | 5,946 |
| 1838 | 37,026 | 7,402 |
| 1839 | 22,575 | 12,525 |
| 1840 | 16,745 | 22,203 |
The imports and consumption of rhubarb are thus stated in the Pharmaceutical Journal:—
| Imports. lbs. | Consumption. 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 sagittæfolia, 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 a fawn brown, or sometimes of a dark grey, approaching to black. The color internally is nearly white. Besides this species there are others indigenous, such as S. officinalis, which grows in the province of Mina; S. syphilitica, which grows in the northern regions, and three new species, S. japicanga, S. Brasiliensis, and S. syringioides. There is also met with in Brazil another plant, Herreria sarsaparilla, belonging to the same natural order, which abounds in the provinces of Rio, Bahia, and Mina, and the roots of which receive the name of wild sarsaparilla.
From Mexico, Honduras, and Angostura very good qualities are imported. S. zeylanica, glabra, and perfoliata furnish sarsaparilla from Asia, and S. excelsa and aspera are used as substitutes for the officinal drug in Europe.