36 
ON  THE  LEAVES  OF  THE  COCA* 
The  following  year  the  shrubs,  whose  height  is  already  froro 
40  to  50  centimetres  [16  to  20  inches]  are  transplanted  into  a 
plot  of  ground  specially  prepared  for  them  and  called  a  cocal. 
The  arrangement  of  these  plantations  is  much  more  complicated 
than  that  of  an  ordinary  plantation,  and  varies  according  to  the 
inclination  of  the  surface.  When  the  cocal  occupies  the  slope  of 
a  mountain,  which  is  the  usual  case,  the  cultivator  forms  a  series 
of  narrow  steps,  each  intended  for  a  single  row  of  shrubs,  and 
the  more  elevated  (consequently  the  less  numerous)  as  the  sur* 
face  is  more  steep.*  They  are  generally  supported  by  little 
stone  walls,  which  serve  not  merely  to  contain  the  earth  and  pre- 
vent its  drying,  but  also  to  protect  the  stem  and  roots  of  the 
young  shrubs  from  the  too  direct  influence  of  the  solar  rays,  by 
means  of  the  projection  which  they  form  above  the  level  of  the 
soil. 
Where  the  ground  is  level  they  make,  instead  of  steps  or  ter- 
races, simple  furrows  (uachos}  in  a  straight  line  and  separated 
from  one  another  by  little  walls  of  well-moulded  earth,  called 
umachas,  at  the  foot  of  each  of  which  is  planted  a  row  of  the 
shrubs  more  or  less  apart  from  each  other. 
At  the  end  of  a  year  and  a  half  the  plant  affords  its  first  crop, 
and  from  this  period  to  the  age  of  forty  years  or  more  it  con- 
tinues to  yield  a  supply.  Instances  are  cited  of  Coca  plantations 
which  have  existed  for  nearly  a  century,  and  which  still  produce. 
Nevertheless,  the  greatest  abundance  of  leaves  is  obtained  from 
plants  of  from  three  to  six  years  of  age.  When  the  trees  run 
up  too  much,  the  produce  is  less  than  when  they  spread  ;  they 
are  therefore  pruned  in  some  cases  to  favor  an  increase  in  breadth 
which,  however,  is  never  considerable  as  the  form  of  the  shrub  is 
irregular.  The  average  height  of  the  wild  plant  appears  to  be 
about  two  metres ;  but  in  cultivation  it  is  generally  allowed  to 
attain  but  one  meHre  [39  inches.] 
The  first  gathering  which  takes  place  in  a  Coca  plantation  is 
at  the  expense  of  only  the  lower  leaves  of  the  shrubs  ;  and  it  is 
therefore  called  quita  cahon.'f  The  leaves  of  which  this  gather- 
ing consists  are  larger  and  more  coriaceous  than  those  of  subse- 
*On  some  of  the  slopes  the  inclination  exceeds  45°. 
fFrom  quitar.  to  lake  away7  and  calzon,  pantaloon. 
