THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [March i, 1895. 
commenced in December and January when the rains 
begin, which continue until April. The seeds are 
spread on the surface of the b >i t in a small nursery 
cr raising ground, over which there is ge ierally a 
thatched roof. The following year the young plants 
are removed to a soil especially prepared by careful 
weeding and breaking up the clods very fine by band. 
This soil is ofton in terraces only affording room 1 
for a single iow of plants, which are kept uj by 
sustaining walls. The plants are generally place > 
in square holes a f- ot deep, with stones on the hides 
to prevent the earth from falling in. Three or four 
are planted in each hole a"d gr .w together. In 
Southern Peru a' d Bolivia the soil in which th • c ca 
plants grow is composed of a blackish c ay, f 
from the decomposition of the schists which form 
the principal geological feature of tlie Ivtst. in Amies. 
"When the plantation is on level ground tliu plants 
are placed in furrows separated by little wads of 
earth, at the foot of each of which a row of pla ts 
is p ! aced. But this is a modern innovation the 
terrace cultivation being the most ancient. At the 
end of eighteen monthB the pants yielded t'leir first 
harvest they continue to yield for upwards of forty 
years. The first harvest is called ' qidta calzou 
and the leaved are picked with extreni- caie to 
avoid disturbing the roots of the young tender plants. 
The following harvest are called "mitta" ("unie" 
or " season") and take place three tunes or even 
four times a year. The most abundant i arvest is 
in March, immediately after the rains. The w rst 
is at the end of June. With plenty of watering 
four days suffice to cover the plants wit 1 leaves 
afresh. It is necessar> to weed the ground very 
carefullv, especially while the plant are young. The 
green leaves, when harvested, are deposited in a 
piece of cloth which each p cker (woman or childi 
carries, and ate then spread out in very thin layers 
and carefully dried in the suit in yards paved Willi 
slate flags. The g een leaf is called main, uud the 
dried leaf becomes coca. The thoroughly dry leaves 
are sewn up in 20 lb. aesteS or sacks made of banana 
leaves, strengthened by an exier,or covering of 
cloth. They are also packed in 50 lb. drume, pn lae 
tightly down. Dr. Jroepping, a Gerinau taaVcUerl 
some sixty years ago reckoned the profits of a coca 
farm to be 45 per cent. The harvest is largest in 
a hot moist situatiou ; but the leaf which is general y 
considered the best flavoured by consumers, grows 
in drier parts on the mountain sides. Toe very 
greatest care is required in drying ; for if packed 
up moist the leaves become fetid, while too much 
sun causes them to shrivel and lose rUvo r. 
Coca Trade. — The internal trade in coca lias be n 
c mslderable, ever since the couque t of Peru, three- 
and-a-half centuries ago. Acosta says that i i his 
ti'iie at Potosi, it was worth $50l»,00 J auuuaily, and 
that in 1583 the Ind arts consumed 100,000 cestos uf 
coca, w. rth $2$ each in i uzco, and §1 in Potosi. 
Between 1785 an l 179 ) the coca traffic was calcula- 
ted at $1 207,430 in the Peruvian Vtcero. alty, and 
at $2,641,487 including that of Buenos Ayres. In 
1860 the approximate annual produce of coca in Pe u 
was abouc J5,000,000 lbs., the avenge yield being 
800 lb. an acre. Mo e than 10,000,000 lb. were 
annual'y produced in Bolivii, At that time tne 
t mbor or drum of 50 lb. was worth §9 to $12, the 
fluctuations in price being caused by the perisnable 
nature of the article. The average durai ion of coca 
i n a sound state, on the coast of Peru, is about 
five months, after which time it is said to lo.se its 
flavour, and it is rejected by consumers as worthless 
Use of Coca. — JSd native of Peru is w thout hs 
chuspa or coca bag made of liama ■ loth, which he 
carries over one shoulder, suspended at his side. 
In taking coca he sits down, puts his chuspa before 
him, and places the leases in his mouth one by < ne, 
chewing ihem, and turning them with his tongue, 
until he f-wn s a bal'. He then applies a small 
quantity of carbonate of potash prepared by burning 
the stalk of the quinna plant, and mixing the ashes 
with lime and wat r; he thu-i forms cakes called 
llipta. which are dried for use and also kept in the 
chuspa or bag, sometimes in a small silver receptacle. 
With this there is also a small pointed instrument 
with which th • llipta is scratched, and the powder 
is applied to the pellet of leaves. In some proviacei 
a phi ill calabash full of lime is kept in their cliutpa*, 
called ifcujiui-u. The operation of chewing is usually 
performed three times during the day's work, and 
eve y Indian consumes 2 or 3 oz of coca daily. In 
tne miues of the cold regions of the Andes the 
Indians derive great enjoyment from the use of coca, 
the chamjue or messenger, in his long journey j over 
the mountains and deserts, and the shephered watch- 
ing his flock on the lofty plains, baa no other 
nourishment than is afforded by his chtupa of coca, 
eawnii or frozen potato, and a little patched maize. 
The feats of Indian couriers, sustained hy coca leaf 
and a little parched maize, are marvellous. It is 
authentically recorded fat an Indian has taken a 
message from La Paz to Tacna, a distance of 249 
mites, w th a pass XJtOH feet above the sea to p 
up and come down, in four days, thus accomplishing 
60 miles a day. lie rusted cue day and night at 
Tacua, an I then returned. 
PtfltiaM of the Coca Ltaf. — The relianci on the 
extiaordinary virtues of the coca leaf amongst the 
Peruvian Indians is wry strong. In the province 
of lluanuco they believe that, if a dying uiau can 
taste a leaf placed on his tongue, it is a sure aigo 
of his 'uiu e happiness. A common remedy for a 
headache is to danp coca leaves, and to stick them 
all over the forehead. My own experience of cue* 
wa< very much in its favour. Besides the agreeable 
soothing feeling it produced, I found that when I 
chewed it I could endure long abstinence from food 
with less inconvenience than I should otherwise 
have felt, and that it enabled ine to ascend pre- 
cipitous mouutaiu sides with a feeling of lightness 
and elasticity, and without losing breath. This latter 
quality ought to recommend its use to members of 
ine Alpine Club, an I to walking tourists in general 
The smell of the coca leaf is agreeable and aro- 
ma! c, and when chewed it gives out a grateful 
fragrauce, accompanied by slight irritation, which 
excites the siliva. Tea made Iroui the leaves has 
has much the taste of green tet, and, if taken at 
night, is much more provocative of wakefu'ness. 
Applied externally coca leaves moderate rheumatic 
pains. When med to excess it is, like everything 
else, prejudicial to health; yet, of all the uarc tics 
and biimulaiits used by in -n coca is the least 
iujuriou , and most soothing and invigorating. 
Cocaine. — Tbe active principle of the coca le.f was 
separa ed by Dr. Niemann in i860, and eal ed cocaine. 
It is an alkalo d which cr> stallisea with difficulty, 
is but slightly soluble in water, bnt e-aily so in 
alcohol, a' d still more easily in ether. The discovery 
of the medicinal virtues of cocai e followed soon 
after the separation of the alkaloid. I remember 
that W' en I was iu Edinburgh in 1870: the eminent 
physiciau, Sir Robert Christison, spoke to me on 
the subject of the use of coca leaves. He was then 
upwards of eighty years of years, and he told me 
that he had gone up and down Arthur s Seat, with 
the use of coca, with a lightness and elasticity saci 
as he had not experienced since be was a young 
man. He foretold that coca would av.ain the impor- 
tant, position in the pharmacopoeia, before long, 
which it n w holds. It was in 1881 that tdegieat 
discovery was made by Herr Koller, at Vienna, that 
cocaiue produces local anassihesia. 
Export. — The great medicinal virtues of cocaine 
have since been ascertained, and a demand has 
aris ;n for th-) leaf which will increase My late3 
Custom House returns from Peru are for the last 
quarter of 1890, when ih-t export of coca h aves 
fro ii the p rts of Moliendo and Salavery to England 
and Germany were 14,689 lb. worth £642, and of 
cocaine from Cailao 2,046 lb., worth £372. If these 
re urns may be quadrupled for the whole year, 
the quantity of coca wai 58.756 lb. worth £2,568 
a^d of cocaine 8,184 lb. wort'i £1,488. 
Plants Distributed by Kew. — For the cultivation of 
the co a plant in our Colonies a id in India we are 
indebted to Kew Gardens, an institution to which 
this Empire, and, indeed, the whole civilised world 
owes an immense debt of gratitude for its wise and 
indefatigable exertions in the distribution of plants, 
