EllYTIIKOXYLON COCA. 
290 
seer. The Nevis thislle-oil must be valuable indeed, to fetch about 8 annas an 
ounce. 
2\st Julif., 18G6. 
F.S .—With reference to the change of properties of oils b^^ keeping, I have often 
heard natives say that when castor-oil is neicltj extracted, they sometimes make use of it 
for cooking purposes. It is bland and very different from the same oil kept for some 
days .—Indian Alediccd Gazette, August, 18GG. 
[In previous volumes of this Journal, attention has already been drawn to this oil, but 
Dr. Bonavia has evidently not had the opportunity of consulting its pages, or he would 
have found very full details given by our correspondent the late Dr. Hamilton, of Ply¬ 
mouth. In a paper in vol. iv, p. 1G7, he goes largely into its medicinal uses, and quotes 
the experience of West Indian practitioners with it. He then spoke of its anodyne 
effects in cancer and irritating skin disease's. In vol. xii. p. 292, he suggested it as a 
remedy for Asiatic cholera, and some further observations on the same subject are given 
by him at vol. xiii. p. 612.— Ed. Piiarm. Jourx.] 
ERYTIIROXYLON COCA. 
Dr. Reis, in the ‘ Bulletin Ge'n. de Therapeutiquo,’ of Feb. 28, 1866, writes with regard 
to the Erythroxylon Coca :— 
“In January, 1863, as some of my colleagues may remember, I published an account 
of some experiments made with the leaves of the EryfJiroxyJum peruviamnn, Erythroxylon 
Coca, a plant which is used by the Indians of Peru as a masticatory, in doses of fifteen to 
twenty-five grammes daily, for the purpose of enabling them to undergo fatigue, hunger, 
and thirst, or the severe labours of the mines. 
“ I have subsequently verified the powerful yet inoffensive efficacy of this substance as 
a nervous stimulant. On the one hand, results are augmented, and continued activity 
of the mental faculties, rendering elocution easy and animated, and inspiring resolution, 
courage, and perseverance; on the other, an increased disposition to muscular action as 
shown by facility in locomotion, which can be continued without fatigue for a long 
period during the mastication of the coca. Hence, my observations have led me to re¬ 
gard this stimulant as an agent well adapted to distract the mind from its habitual cares, 
and sustain temporarily the vital forces, with or wdthout a moderate use of food. Doses 
of two, three, or four grammes of coca, renewed at seasonable intervals, are sufficient t© 
produce these physiological effects. 
“ The experiments of MM. Dorse and Mantegazza have, how'ever, shown that in large 
doses the Peruvian leaf causes an acceleration in the cardiac contraction four times 
greater than that produced by tea, more than twice as much as that resulting from 
coffee, and at least a third greater than that which follows the employment of tlie Ilex 
mate. When used in doses of thirty to forty grammes, an intense fever, accompanied 
with hallucinations and delirium, follows. Being among the first to call attention to the 
prompt, energetic, and almost poisonous action of the coca, I cannot but recommend its 
employment in diseases characterized by marked depression of the nervous and muscular 
system, and particularly in cholera.” 
Dr. Reis then goes on to state that he has used it during the recent epidemic, but adds 
that no severe cases came under his observation. In a few in which algid symptoms be¬ 
gan to make their appearance, and the pulse v/as small and almost imperceptible, the use 
of the remedy w'as follov/ed by apparently good results. It may be administered in the 
form of elixir, syrup, extract, infusion, masticatory, or may be smoked like tobacco. 
The experiments made in this country with the coca do not confirm the very sanguine 
opinions of Dr. Reis. The results have been contradictory. It is, however, a remedy 
worthy of further examination, since if half which has been told of it were true it would 
be very valuable in some nervous diseases .—London Medical Press. 
