DR. ALBERT SCHNEIDER, It is an aromatic tonic and cerebral stimulant, developing a remarkable power of enduring hunger and fatigue.—Gould: Dictionary of Medicine. AT THE very outset I wish to state that coca is in no wise related to cocoa, a mistake which is very often made. The term coca, or cuca, as it is sometimes spelled, applies usually to the leaves of Erythroxylon coca, which are used as a stimulant by the natives of South America and which yield cocaine, a very important local anÆsthetic. Cocoa or cacao refers to the seeds of Theobroma cacao, from which cocoa and chocolate are prepared, so highly prized in all civilized countries. With these preliminary statements I shall begin the description of coca, hoping at some future time to describe the even more interesting and important cocoa-yielding plant. Coca and cuca are South American words of Spanish origin and apply to the plant itself as well as to the leaves. The plant is a native of Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia. It is a shrub varying in height from three to ten feet. The leaves resemble the leaves of tea in general outline. The margin, however, is smooth and entire, the leaf-stock (petiole) short; upper and lower surfaces smooth; they are rather thin, leathery, and somewhat bluish-green in color. The characteristic feature of the leaf is two lines or ridges which extend from the base of the blade, curving out on either side of the mid-rib and again uniting at the apex of the leaf. The flowers are short pedicled, small, perfect, white or greenish-yellow, and occur singly or in clusters in the axil of the leaves or bracts. The shrub is rather straggling and not at all showy. Coca has been under cultivation in South America for many centuries. According to A. de Caudolle the plant was very extensively cultivated under the rule of the Incas. In fact it is generally believed that the original wild stock no longer exists; such eminent authorities as D'Orbigny and Poeppig maintaining that the wild growing specimens now found in South America are plants which have escaped from cultivation. Coca is now extensively cultivated in Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, and other South American countries, particularly in the Andes region. It is also extensively cultivated in British India and in Java. Attempts have been made to introduce it into Southern Europe but without success. The plants are grown from seeds sown in pots or boxes in which they are kept until they are from eight to ten inches high, after which they are transplanted during the rainy season. Coca thrives best in a warm, well-drained soil, with considerable atmospheric moisture. In the Andes region an elevation of 2,000 feet to 5,000 feet is most suitable. The young growing plants must be protected against the heat of the sun. The maximum growth is attained in about five years. The leaves are the only parts used although the active principle, cocaine, is present in small quantities in all parts of the plant. As soon as the shrubs are several years old the leaves are picked, usually several times each year. This work is done principally by women and children who pick the leaves by hand and place them in aprons. They are then spread upon large mats, awnings, or cemented floors, and exposed to the sun for from five or six hours to two or three days. During very warm, bright weather drying may be completed in one day. If the process of drying is slow or if it rains upon the leaves they assume a dark color and are of less value. On the first indications of rain the leaves are placed in sheds specially made for that purpose. Coca leaves have been used for many centuries by the natives of South America who employed them principally as a stimulant, rarely medicinally. The leaves were at one time highly prized. Chewing coca leaves is a habit which may be compared to the habit of chewing tobacco with the difference that the former is by far less injurious though there are good reasons to believe that it is far from harmless. Dr. Wedell says an habitual coca chewer is known as coquero and is recognized by his haggard look, gloomy and solitary habit, listless inability, and disinclination for any active employment. The same authority states further that the habitual use of coca acts more prejudicially upon Europeans than upon the Indians accustomed to it from their early years. Occasionally it causes a peculiar aberration of intellect, characterized by hallucinations. Chewing coca leaves has never become common among civilized nations. Large quantities of leaves are, however, imported for the purposes of extracting the active principle cocaine, whose effects are very marked. Cocaine causes a feeling of depression, and a marked reduction in the activity of the senses preceded by stimulation. Cocaine solutions are very extensively employed to produce local anÆsthesia in minor surgical operations. Dentists employ it very extensively. Its use has several serious drawbacks. Occasionally it produces no effects whatever and again an ordinary medicinal dose has caused fatal poisoning. For these reasons dentists, physicians, and surgeons often hesitate in using it. According to some authorities the poisonous effects are due to a second alkaloid which occurs in the leaves of some varieties of coca. If that is the case, then poisoning may be prevented by excluding these varieties from the market, which is not an easy matter considering that the leaves are collected, dried, and shipped by ignorant natives. It is also known that the active principle is rapidly destroyed, hence the necessity of using fresh leaves. In the course of one year most of the cocaine has undergone a chemical change and the leaves are absolutely worthless. Careless drying also destroys much or all of the cocaine. FOOTNOTE: |