Am.  Jour.  Pharm  \ 
April,  1886.  J 
The  Cultivation  of  Coca. 
195 
coca  for  export,  it  is  fair  to  say  that  nothing  definite  is  known.  Such 
coca  as  has  reached  Europe  or  the  United  States  in  good  condition 
has  done  so  purely  by  accident;  for  perhaps  the  very  next  lot,  dried, 
packed  and  shipped  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  same  manner,  has 
arrived  entirely  ruined.  I  have  tried  many  methods,  and  as  often 
as  I  had  thought  that  the  secret  was  discovered,  my  hopes  have 
resulted  in  disappointment. 
As  regards  the  exportation  of  the  culture  of  coca,  the  experiment 
has  been  tried,  I  believe,  but  once.  Several  years  since,  Mr.  F.  L. 
Steinart,  of  La  Paz,  shipped  a  small  quantity  of  seeds  via  London 
to  Ceylon,  and  during  the  past  season  the  first  products  were  shipped 
to  London  and  sold  at  a  high  price.  Seeds  for  export  should  be 
exposed  for  several  days  to  a  hot  sun,  so  as  to  rapidly  dry  the  fleshy 
exterior,  which  thus  forms  a  protection  to  the  germ  within. 
It  is  my  opinion  that  the  coca-plant  is  adapted  for  culture  in  many 
countries  where  it  is  now  unknown.  Among  the  countries  where  it 
would  be  well  to  experiment  with  it  are  Guatemala,  Mexico,  the 
East  and  West  Indies,  India,  Southern  China,  portions  of  Africa, 
and  possibly  of  Italy.  It  is  doubtful  if  it  would  grow  in  any  por- 
tion of  the  United  States.  Requiring  an  average  temperature  of  at 
least  70°,  the  only  districts,  at  all  suited  would  be  Florida  and 
Southern  Texas;  and  it  is  highly  probable  that  proximity  to  the  sea- 
coast  at  so  low  an  altitude  would  prove  fatal.  Nor  would  irrigation 
prove  adequate  in  those  countries  possessing  a  long  dry  season.  The 
plants  must  not  only  have  an  abundant  supply  of  water  at  the  roots; 
they  must  be  bathed  in  a  humid  atmosphere  for  the  greater  portion 
of  the  year.  But  from  what  I  have  read  of  some  of  the  countries 
above  named,  I  am  confident  that  the  plant  would  there  find  a  con- 
genial home.  Jamaica  offers  especially  hopeful  conditions. — Thera- 
peutic Gazette,  1886,  pp.  14-18. 
Ain.yl  Nitrite  as  a  Physiological  Antidote  in  Cocaine 
Poisoning. — Schilling  records  a  case  of  severe  cocaine  poisoning,  in  which, 
after  the  intragingival  injection  of  two  drops  of  a  twenty  per  cent,  solution 
of  this  drag,  motion  and  sensation  entirely  disappeared.  Complete  amaurosis 
and  deafness  were  present.  The  patient  could  swallow  well,  and  called  to  her 
husband,  who  was  .  absent,  complaining  of  cold  and  darkness.  Schilling, 
recognizing  the  condition  as  one  due  to  contraction  of  the  cerebral  vessels, 
exhibited  nitrite  of  amyl.  The  face  of  the  patient  immediately  became  suf- 
fused, and  she  cried,  "  Now  it  is  light  again."  After  three  inhalations  she  was 
in  condition  to  reply  correctly  to  all  questions,  and  soon  after  returned  to  her 
home .— Med.  News,  March  6, 1886. 
