PLANTS CULTIVATED FOR THEIE STEMS OR LEAVES. 135 



ployed from time immemorial the leaves of this shrub, as 

 the Chinese have those of the tea plant. They gather them 

 especially in the damp forests of the interior, between the 

 degrees of 20 and 30 south latitude, and commerce trans- 

 ports them dried to great distances throughout the greater 

 part of South America. These leaves contain, with aroma 

 and tannin, a principle analogous to that of tea and coffee ; 

 they are not, however, much liked in the countries where 

 Chinese tea is known. The plantations of mat^ are not 

 yet as important as the product of the wild shrub, but 

 they may increase as the population increases. More- 

 over, the preparation is simpler than that of tea, as the 

 leaves are not rolled. 



Illustrations and descriptions of the species, with a 

 number of details about its use and jiroperties, may be 

 found in the works of Saint-Hilaire, of Sir William 

 Hooker, and of Martins.^ 



Coca. — Erythroxylon Coca, Lamarck. 



The natives of Peru and of the neighbouring pro- 

 vinces, at least in the hot moist regions, cultivate this 

 shrub, of which they chew the leaves, as the natives of 

 India chew the leaves of the betel. It is a very ancient 

 custom, which has spread even into elevated regions, 

 where the species cannot live. Now that it is known how 

 to extract the essential part of the coca, and its virtues 

 are recognized as a tonic, which gives strength to endure 

 fatigue without having the drawbacks of alcoholicliquors, 

 it is probable that an attempt will be made to extend 

 its cultivation in America and elsewhere. In Guiana, for 

 instance, the Malay Archipelago^ or the valleys of Sikkim 

 and Assam, or in Hindustan, since both moisture and heat 

 are requisite. Frost is very injurious to the species. The 

 best sites are the slopes of hills where water cannot lie. 

 An attempt made in the neighbom-hood of Lima failed, 

 because of the infrequency of rain and perhaps because 

 of insufficient heat.^ 



• ATig. de Saint-Hilaire, M4m. dw Museum, ix. p. 351 ; Arm. 8c. 

 Nat., 3rd series, xiv. p. 52 j Hooker, London Jowrnal of Botany, i. p. 34 ; 

 Martius, Mora Brasiliensis, vol. ii. part 1, p. 119. 



' Martinet, Bvil. Soc, d'Acclim., 1874, p. 449. 



