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 anesthetic. Cocoa or cacao refers to the seeds of Theobroma cacao, for which cocoa and chocalade 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 midrib 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. Acosta states that during the reign of the Incas the common people were not permitted to use the leaves without permission from the governor. After the passing of the Incas and after coca was more extensively cultivated all classes chewed the leaves. Children were, however, not allowed to use them. According to Mariani, the young Indian on arriving at the proper age was sent to an old woman whose duty it was to instruct him and to invest him with authority to chew coca leaves. The native carries the leaves in a little pouch (huallqui or chuspa) suspended from the belt. This pouch also contains a small bottle-gourd or calabash (ishcupura) in which is carried the ash of some plant (species of Chenopodium), known as Llipta. A few leaves are placed in the mouth and rolled into a ball; a stick moistened with saliva is .now dipped into the ash and wiped upon the leaves. The ash is supposed to develop the flavor and to cause a flow of saliva which is either entirely swallowed or partially expectorated.