• 



to the Botanical Magazine," where there is also a figure 

 of one variety of the plant, collected by Mr. Matthews 

 of Lima, at Chinchao in Peru. The latter publication was 

 mainly instrumental in directing the attention of the 

 medical faculty to theCoca.the therapeutical history of which 

 will be found in Bentley and Trimen's work cited above. 

 It is enough to say that the trials made in England with the 

 dried leaf, or with the active alkaloid " Cocaine " procured 

 from the leaf, were not up to that time encouraging. More 

 recently very careful experiments have been made with 

 Cocaine by Dr. H. H. Eusby, of New York, and published 

 id the " Therapeutic Gazette," uuder the title of " Coca at 

 home aDd abroad." Dr. Rusby says, " The effects of 

 Cocaine as a nerve stimulus applied to intellectual and 

 emotional activity are ruinous. It takes away appetite, 

 abolishes the sensations of hunger and thirst, lessens waste 

 during exertion, and decreases the exhaustion of ill-fed 

 labourers and travellers. Beyond this Cocaine has no 

 supporting or nourishing power whatever, and its essential 

 action is enfeebling. Every attempt made to support by 

 it athletic competition has resulted irf failure, or even 

 disaster." Comparatively recently a more excellent pro- 

 perty has been found in Cocaine, namely, that of an 

 anaesthetic, especially useful in operations on the eye. 



Nevertheless the use of the leaf prevails throughout 

 almost the whole length and breadth of South America. 

 Its cultivation covers an enormous area ; Bolivia produces 

 7,500,000 pounds of the dried leaf annually, Peru 

 15,000,000, and the produce of the Argentine Province, 

 together with Paraguay and parts of Brazil, must be 

 enormously greater. 



As is to be expected in the case of a plant cultivated 

 over so great an area, it has given origin to different local 

 forms, amongst which none can be regarded scientifically 

 as the type, owing to the fact that the native country of 

 the species has not been satisfactorily ascertained. 



In such a case recourse must be had to the principle 

 ot priority, and the first satisfactorily designated or de- 

 picted form must be regarded as the type, namely, the 

 ti, coca ot Lamarck, who describes and figures a Peruvian 

 specimen with elliptic ovate acute leaves. With this form 

 that here figured sufficiently accords. Specimens of it have 



