MIXOR PRODUCTS OF CEYLOX 513 



being selected as far as practicable. These are best dried in the 

 shade, so as to retain their green colour as much as possible. 

 Sun-dried leaves are considered to contain less cocaine. The 

 dried leaves are best packed for export in zinc-lined air-tight 

 cases, as any moisture or sweating is injurious to them. On some 

 plantations, however, the bushes are clipped with shears, and the 

 dried twigs with leaves made up in pressed bales for export. A 

 return of about 1,200 to 2,000 Ib. of dried leaf per acre per annum 

 may be obtained. 



The chief use of the plant is for the extraction of cocaine from 

 the leaves. In its native home the leaves are very largely used as 

 a masticatory, being chewed with a little unslaked lime ; the imme- 

 diate effect is said to be a " gentle excitement, with sensations of 

 high enjoyment, lessening the desire for food, and enabling the 

 chewer to undergo an enormous amount of fatigue." The leaves 

 are also sometimes infused as tea, the infusion being taken as a 

 drink. Since the restrictions on opium consumption in India, large 

 quantities of cocaine are frequently smuggled into that country for 

 use as a substitute for opium. The value of the dried leaves, though 

 said to be largely judged by appearance, depends upon the amount 

 of alkaloid they contain. DR. DE JOXG estimated that in Java 

 1.125 Ib. of dry leaf yields about 7 Ib. of alkaloid ( =1*5 per cent.), 

 from which 13^ Ib. pure cocaine can be obtained. The price ob- 

 tained for the leaf fluctuates considerably. In Colombo it varies 

 from about 30 to 45 cts. per Ib. ( =say 5</. to 7i</.), and in London 

 from 6d. to 10J. per Ib., according to quality of leaf and demand. 

 The export of Coca leaves from Ceylon in 1911 was 1,432 cwt. 

 valued at 4.654; but in 1912 the figures dropped to 1,186 Ib. 

 valued at 3.838. 



VARIETIES. The plant occurs under two distinct types (of which there 

 are different forms), distinguished chiefly by the leaves, viz. (1) var. tioi-ugmna- 

 /f//.\Y(=Huanaco or Bolivian Coca), characterized by pale-green leaves and a 

 free bushy habit, producing a good quantity of leaves ; (2) var. truxillcnsc 

 {=Peruvian type ). with narrower and darker leaves. The former is the one 

 chiefly grown in Ceylon, and is more esteemed in commerce, being known as 

 Ceylon-Huanaco. Var. sprnccuintin, which closely resembles var. trnxillensc, 

 is said to be the one chiefly grown in Java. 



Coffee. " Kopai," S. & T. The coffee of commerce is fur- 

 nished by Coffea arabica, known as " Arabian coffee, " and to a 

 small extent by allied species or varieties ( see below ). Coffea 

 arabica is a small slender tree, native of tropical Africa, but intro- 

 duced into all tropical countries and cultivated extensively in 



