580  Coca  Cultivation  in  the  East  Indies.  {Am^-1?8h9arm- 
COCA  CULTIVATION  IN  THE  EAST  INDES. 
The  director  of  the  Botanical  Gardens  at  Buitenzorg  (Java),  in  his 
last  report,  makes  some  observations  concerning  the  cultivation  of  coca 
leaves  in  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  which  go  some  way  to  confirm  the 
view  that  before  many  years  are  over  a  not  inconsiderable  proportion  of 
our  requirements  in  this  article  may  be  supplied  by  the  Java  planters, 
unless  indeed  the  market  price  of  the  drug  should  depreciate  to  such 
an  extent  as  to  render  the  culture  of  the  plant  absolutely  unprofitable. 
The  climate  of  Buitenzorg,  and- presumably  therefore  of  a  very  large 
portion  of  Java,  is  now  proved  to  be  excellently  suited  for  the  propa- 
gation of  the  plant.  A  trial  plantation  of  not  quite  J  bahoe  (=J  acre) 
area  gave  four  crops  of  leaves  during  the  year  1888 — viz.,  in  Feb- 
ruary, April,  June,  and  September,  the  total  weight  of  dry  leaves 
obtained  being  fully  360  lbs.  It  would  seem  from  these  data  that, 
given  favorable  circumstances  and  intelligent  cultivation,  an  acre  of 
coca  plants  might  be  made  yield  a  crop  of  about  400  lbs.  of  leaves, 
which,  if  properly  cured  and  of  fair  quality  as  the  drug  now  goes, 
ought  to  realize  at  least  20/.  in  Europe,  and  therefore  be  a  far  more 
profitable  crop  than  cinchona  is  now.  Last  July  the  Buitenzorg  Gar- 
dens were  visited  by  a  prominent  German  cocaine  manufacturer,  with 
whom  the  directors  of  the  gardens  had  a  long  interview  concerning  the 
best  way  of  growing  and  curing  the  drug,  and  making  its  cul- 
tivation a  commercial  success.  As  a  result  of  the  interview,  two 
samples  of  coca  leaves  were  sent  from  Buitenzorg  to  Germany 
for  analysis ;  one  of  the  samples  (of  about  45  lbs.)  consisted  of 
slowly-dried  leaves,  the  other  of  leaves  which  had  been  dried 
as  quickly  as  possible  in  the  sun  and  subsequently  reduced  to  a  fine 
powder.  The  leaves  sent  to  Germany  were  of  the  small  varieties 
which,  when  previously  tested,  had  been  found  to  be  of  the  greatest 
alkaloidal  richness.  The  slowly-dried  sample  was  found  to  contain 
0'34  per  cent,  of  absolutely  pure  cocaine  alkaloid.  The  second  sam- 
ple of  60  lbs.  of  sun-dried  and  powdered  leaves  only  yielded  0*14  per 
cent,  of  absolutely  pure  cocaine.  The  latter  shipment  when  received 
in  Europe  showed  leaves  of  a  bright  green  color,  but  without  the 
characteristic  smell.  The  quick-drying  system,  therefore,  appears 
to  exercise  an  unfavorable  influence  on  the  alkaloidal  value  of  the  leaf. 
Another  sample  of  the  second  variety  was  sent  to  Europe  through  a 
Batavia  shipping  house,  analyzed  by  another  firm,  and  gave  the  same 
bad  results  as  the  first,  the  sale  price  being  one  at  which  it  could  not 
