Acosta states that during the reign of 

 the Incas the common people were not 

 permitted to use the leaves without 

 permission from the governor. After 

 the passing of the Incas and after coca 

 was more extensively cultivated all 

 classes chewed the leaves. Children 

 were, however, not allowed tou.se them. 

 According to Mariani, the young In 

 dian on arriving at the proper age was 

 sent to an old woman whose duty it 

 was to instruct him and to invest him 

 with authority to chew coca leaves. 

 The native carries the leaves in a little 

 pouch (huallqui or chuspa] suspended 

 from the belt. This pouch also con 

 tains a small bottle-gourd or calabash 

 (ishcupura} in which is carried the ash 

 of some plant (species of Chenopo- 

 dium), known as Llipta. A few leaves 

 are placed in the mouth and rolled into 

 a ball; a stick moistened with saliva is 

 now dipped into the ash and wiped 

 upon the leaves. The ash is supposed 

 to develop the flavor and to cause a 

 flow of saliva which is either entirely 

 swallowed or partially expectorated. 

 It is said that the use of the leaves en 

 abled the Indians to undergb extreme 

 hardships. A French missionary states 

 that the leaves were absolutely neces 

 sary to the slaves employed in the 

 quicksilver mines of Peru. They were 

 also used in dressing wounds, ulcers, 

 and taken internally for the cure of in 

 testinal troubles, jaundice, and various 

 spasmodic troubles. Historians seem 

 to agree that the constant chewing of 

 the leaves by the Indians did not pro 

 duce any very marked deleterious ef 

 fects. Mariani, upon the authority of 

 several authors, states that it even 

 seems to be conducive to longevity. 

 The dead of the South American In 

 dians were always supplied with a lib 

 eral quantity of coca to enable them to 

 make the long and fatiguing journey to 

 the promised land. 



Chewing coca leaves is a habit which 

 may be compared to the habit of chew 

 ing tobacco with the difference that 

 the former is by far less injurious 

 though there are good reasons to be 

 lieve that it is far from harmless. Dr. 



Wedell says an habitual cocacheweris 

 kno\vn as coquero and is recognized by 

 his haggard look, gloomy and solitary 

 habit, listless inability, and disinclina 

 tion for any active employment. The 

 same authority states further that the 

 habitual use of coca acts more preju 

 dicially upon Europeans than upon the 

 Indians accustomed to it from their 

 early years. Occasionally it causes a 

 peculiar aberration of intellect, charac 

 terized by hallucinations. 



Chewing coca leaves has never be 

 come common among civilized nations. 

 Large quantities of leaves are, however, 

 imported for the purposes of extract 

 ing the active principle cocaine, whose 

 effects are very marked. Cocaine 

 causes a feeling of depression, and a 

 marked reduction in the activity of the 

 senses preceded by stimulation. Co 

 caine solutions are very extensively 

 employed to produce local anaesthesia 

 in minor surgical operations. Dentists 

 employ it very extensively. Its use 

 has several serious drawbacks. Occa 

 sionally it produces no effects what 

 ever and again an ordinary medicinal 

 dose has caused fatal poisoning. For 

 these reasons dentists, physicians, and 

 surgeons often hesitate in using it. 

 According to some authorities the poi 

 sonous effects are due to a second alka 

 loid which occurs in the leaves of some 

 varieties of coca. If that is the case, 

 then poisoning may be prevented by 

 excluding these varieties from the 

 market, which is not an easy matter 

 considering that the leaves are col- ^ 

 lected, dried, and shipped by ignorant 

 natives. It is also known that the ac 

 tive principle is rapidly destroyed, 

 hence the necessity of using fresh 

 leaves. In the course of one year most 

 of the cocaine has undergone a chem 

 ical change and the leaves are abso 

 lutely worthless. Careless drying also 

 destroys much or all of the cocaine. 



Description of Plate. A, flowering 

 branch; I, bracts, enlarged; 2, flower 

 ing bud; 3, flower; 4 and 5, petal with 

 ligula; 6, pistil with stamens; 7, stamen; 

 8, pistil; 9, ovary, transverse section; 

 10 and n, corolla; 12 and 13, fruit. 



*Cvea on plate, typographical error; Coca correct. ED. 



204 



