179 



it all my life ; at which news he grinned amusement till his white 

 teeth and eyeballs made a light in that dark place, and offered me 

 a fresh broken pod that I might taste the pink, sour-sweet pulp in 

 which the rows of nibs lie packed, a pulp which I found very plea- 

 sant and refreshing. 



" He dries his Cacao-nibs in the sun, and, if he be a well-to-do 

 and careful man, on a stage with wheels, which can be run into a 

 a little shed on the slightest shower of rain ; picks them over and 

 over, separating the better quality from the worse ; and at last 

 sends them down on mule-back to the sea, to be sold in London as 

 Trinidad cocoa, or perhaps sold in Paris to the chocolate makers, 

 who convert them into Chocolate Menier or other, by mixing 

 them with sugar and vanilla." (Legnminosce.) 



52. Erythroxylon Coca, Lam. — is the plant which yields the well-knowr 

 Cocaine. Mr. Clements Markham gives the following description 

 from his own observations : — " The coca-leaf is the great source of 

 comfort and enjoyment to "the Peruvian Indian ; it is to him what 

 betel is to the Hindu, kava to the South Sea Islander, and tobacco 

 to the rest of mankind ; but its use produces invigorating effects 

 which are not possessed by the other stimulants. From the most an- 

 cient times the Peruvians have used this beloved leaf, and they still 

 look upon it with feelings of superstitious veneration. In the 

 times of the Incas it was sacrificed to the Sun, the Huillac Umu 

 or high priest chewing the leaf during the ceremony, and, before 

 the arrival of the Spaniards, it was used, as the cacao in Mexico, 

 instead of money. 



" The coca plant is cultivated between 5,000 and 6,000 feet above 

 the level of the sea, in the warm valleys of the eastern slopes of the 

 Andes, where almost the only variation of climate is from wet to 

 dry, where frost is unknown, and where it rains more or less every 

 month in the year. It is a shrub from four to six feet high, with 

 lichens usually growing on the older trunks. 



" No Indian is without his chuspa or coca-bag, made of llama- 

 cloth dyed red and blue in patterns, with woollen tassels hanging' 

 from it. He carries it over one shoulder, suspended at his side ; 

 and, in taking coca, he sits down, puts his chuspa before him, and 

 places the leaves in his mouth one by one, chewing and turnirg 

 them till he forms a ball. He then applies a small quantity of 

 carbonate of potash, prepared by burning the stalk of the quinoa 

 * plant, and mixing the ashes with lime and water, thus forming 

 cakes which are dried for use, and also kept in the chuspa. They 

 usually perform this operation three times in a day's work, and 

 every Indian consumes two or three ounces of coca daily. 



"In the mines of the cold region of the Andes the Indians derive 

 great enjoyment from the use of coca ; the running chasqui, or 

 messenger in his long journeys over the mountains and deserts, and 

 the shepherd watching his flock on the lofty plains, has no other 

 nourishment than is afforded by his chwpa of coca, and a little 

 maize; The smell of the leaf is agreeable and aromatic, and when 

 chewed it gives out a grateful fragrance, accompanied by a slight 

 irritation which excites the saliva. Its properties are to enable a 



