490 LINACEA, 
Properties and Uses.—The plants of this order are generally 
remarkable for the tenacity of their liber fibres, and also for the 
mucilage and oil contained in their seeds ; hence the latter are 
emollient and demulcent. A few of the plants are bitter and 
purgative ; and some are stimulant and sedative. Others are 
tonic, and some are used for dyeing red. 
Erythroxy'on.—Some species of Erythroxylon are tonic, others purgative, 
and a few stimulant and sedative. The wood of E. hypericifolium and the 
bark of . suberosum are red, and are used in the preparation of dyes of that 
colour. The wood of others has a similar reddish appearance, and from this 
common colour of the wood the name of the genus is derived. But by far the 
more important plant of this genus is the following :—£. Coca. ‘The dried 
leaves of this plant, under the name of Coca or Cuca, are commonly used 
mixed with a little lime, or wood ashes formed of the burnt stems of 
Chenopodium Quinoa, Cecropia peltata, or other plants, by the natives of 
Peru and some other parts of South America, as a masticatory. The 
Peruvian Indians have always ascribed to coca the most extraordinary 
virtues. Thus, they believe that it lessens the desire and the necessity for 
ordinary food, and, in fact, that it may be considered as almost a substitute 
for food. Spruce says, that an Indian with a chew of Ipadu (the native 
name for coca of the Indians of the Rio Negro) in his cheek, will go two or 
three days without food, and without feeling any desire to sleep. Von 
Tschudi, Markham, Stevenson, Dr. Scherzer, and others have also given 
somewhat similar testimony as to the eftects of coca. But Weddell speaks 
far less highly of its virtues. He states that it does not satisfy the appetite, 
but merely enables those who chew it to support abstinence for a length of 
time without a feeling of hunger or weakness. The use of coca is also said 
to prevent the difticulty of respiration which is generally experienced in 
ascending long and steep mountains. Its excessive use has been stated to 
be very injurious by producing analogous effects to those occasioned by the 
immoderate consumption of opium and fermented liquors; but Tschudi says 
that its moderate use is rather beneficial than otherwise. Christison has 
also testified to its value, from experiments made on himself and others, in 
removing and preventing fatigue. He states that by its use ‘hunger and 
thirst are suspended; but eventually appetite and digestion are unaffected.’ 
It was computed by Johnston some time since, that the annual consumption 
of coca was 30,000,900 lbs., and that its chewing was indulged in by about 
10,000,000 of the human race. In Bolivia alone 15,000,000 Ibs. of coca are 
produced annually. The constituent thus said to give rise to the peculiar 
stimulating, hunger-allaying, and narcotic effects of coca seems essentially 
to be the alkaloid cocaine. It also contains a peculiar form of tannic acid, 
termed coca-tannic acid. Coca leaves and hydrochlorate of cocaine have now 
been made official in the British Pharmacopoeia ; the former have been used 
as a nervine stimulant like tea and coffee, and also as a remedy in insomnia 
and otherwise. Cocaine itself in the form of the official hydrochlorate and 
other salts has been used most extensively and with very beneficial effects 
as a local anesthetic in operations on the eye and in other cases, 
Linum.—The liber-fibres of Linum usitatissimum, when prepared in a 
particular way, constitute flax, of which linen fabrics are made. In 1873, 
2,194,000 ewt. of flax were imported into this country. Linen, when seraped, 
forms lint, which is so much used for surgical dressings ; and the short fibres 
of flax which are separated in the course of its preparation, constitute tow, 
which is much employed in pharmacy, surgery, and for other purposes. The 
seeds of this plant, which is commonly known as the Flax Plant, are termed 
Flaxseed, Linseed, or Lintseed ; they contain much mucilage, and a fixed 
oil. The oil may be readily obtained from the seeds by expression; the 
