119 



(Nat. Stand. Disp. 1905, p. 445). In Java it is usual to pack the 

 powdered leaves in tins which hold about 165 lbs. (Agric. News, 

 Barbados, 1907, p. 127). 



Coca leaves rapidly lose in cocaine percentage if exposed to 

 damp air (Pharm. Journ. [4] ix. p. 496), and they deteriorate in 

 proportion to length of time kept. 



The percentage of cocaine is very variable under cultivation, 

 and cannot be depended upon to come up to a paying standard. 

 It may vary according to altitude, soil, season, preparation, con- 

 ditions under storage, &c. A good marketable percentage has been 

 given as '6 to *8 per cent., this being characteristic of the leaves 

 that come into London (Mus. Kew). A sample of leaves from 

 Sierra Leone, collected from a plant 5 years old, was valued in 

 London (1901) at 6d. to 9d. per lb. for shade-dried leaves, and hd. 

 to 6d. per lb. for sun-dried leaves (I.e.). Leaves grown at the 

 Victoria Botanic Gardens (Cameroons) were found to contain only 

 •28 per cent, of total alkaloid. The low yield was attributed either 

 to improper drying or to deterioration during the long voyage 

 (Pharm. Journ. [4] xv. p. 463). 



Coca leaves may realize from lfd. to 9^d. per lb. In April, 1908, 

 on the London market, fair green Ceylon (Huanuco character) 

 sold at 6^d. ; thin green Ceylon (Truxillo character), rather broken, 

 at 6^d. ; duller green at 4^e?., and common brown at l|d. per lb. in 

 original bulk quantities (Chem. and Druggist, April 11th, 1908, 

 p. 576). In February, 1909, 64 cases Ceylon-Huanuco sold at $d. 

 for middling brownish to 9^d. for fair greenish (I.e. February 13th, 

 1909, p. 273). Recently, fair to good green Ceylon-Huanuco sold 

 at from Sd. to &Jd. per lb. (I.e. March 13th, 1909, p. 435). It is 

 held that the Ceylon leaf brings higher prices than the South 

 American, and is largely the standard of the market (Col. Rep. 

 Ann. No. 527, 1907, p. 30). 



It would appear to be advisable and practicable, under certain 

 conditions, to prepare the crude extract for shipment. 



Cocaine manufactories have been established in Peru for several 

 years ; it is now manufactured in Lima, Callao, Otuzco, Cajamarca, 

 Huanta, and Cuzco. The production from 25 lbs. of coca leaves 

 is 1,466 grains of cocaine, and the exportation during 1904 was 

 7,527-931 kilos, value £94,099; 1905, 6,778*498 kilos, value 

 £116,590, and in 1906 5,914-307, value £79,071, SO per cent, being 

 exported from Callao (Cons. Kep. Ann. No. 4074, 1908, p. 30). 

 Crude cocaine has realized on the Hamburg market 260 m. (£13) 

 per kilog. (Chem. and Druggist, August 8th, 1908, p. 246), and 

 cocaine hydrochloride is valued in Hamburg at 280 in. (£14) per 

 kilog. (Chem. and Druggist, March 13th, 1909, p. 436) ; 8.s\ i\d. to 

 8s. lOd. per oz. (I.e. March 27th, 1909, p. 507). 



lief. — "Some Account of the Uses and Properties of Ooca»" 

 Sir W. J. Hooker, in Comp. Hot. Mag. i. 1835, pp. 161 170.— 

 "Note Sur la Cuture de UErythroxylon Coca" Martinet, in 

 Bulletin de la Soc. d'Acclimatation, July, 1874, pp. 449-455. — 

 44 A few further Notes on Coca Leaf," Simmonds, in the Chemisl 

 and Druggist, May 15th, 1876, pp. 155-156. — " Erythroxylon 



