Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1885-05-30
Cooa-What IS Cooalne7

The discovery that Cocaine VIII pro
! duce local an8sthesia, or insensibility
+ to pains is next In Importance to the dis
/ cOVery OF the properties of ether. Co
/ caIne has been used in important OpeI-
+ atoms on the eye; this, and especially
Its recent employment 70 auay the pain
/ IA the terrible disease under which the
/ illusCrlOus patient, General Grant, has
suffered so long, have given 1t unusual
I prominence 10 meet the popular de-
! sire to know something OF this agent,
/ we give an account OF the plant from
/ which Cocaine is derived. The earliest
! European travellers in Peru mention the
/ use by he natiVs of a leaf which they
! Cnewed to produce 8 stimulating effect,
/ similar TO that of opium. The leaves,
/ known as Coca, are from a shrub which
/ bears the same native name, aad is cul-
/ tIvated IN HuanuCOs and other mountain
( Gus provinces in the Peruvian Andes,
/ which have an altitude Of two to i've
/ thousand feet above the sea. The shrub
! reaches the hight Of six or eight feet,
and has thick evergreen leaves. The
structure of the flower would not allow
/ 1t 10 be placed in any of the families al
ready established, and 8 separate one
! was made Tor it. The name Of the &c
/ nus Is Ergthr0TykOu, which means red
/ wood, several OF the species, natives of
! tropical countries, having wood OF q red
color. The specific name Of the peruVi-
an species. Is that given to 1t by the
/ natives, hence its scientific name is Fry
/ tbr0rytOlI coca. In its relationship the
shrub IS nearest to the fax and the ger
anium families. The shrub is cultivat-
| ed in 4 rude manner bYt natives, who
raise the young plants from the seeds to
1 form plantations known as COcaLs. In
/ from three to i've years from planting
/ the shrubs afford q gathering OF leaves,
ana after that picking Is made annu-
I ally. The leaves are mature when they
/ break on being bent. They are dried
! on platforms or on portion of ground
made smooth by stamping. The leaves
when dry are packed in bales Of about
/ eighty pounds, which are covered by a
/ coarse cloth made by the natives In
/ this form it is an important article Of
/ domestic traffic In Peru, and recently it
! has been sent to this country and to Eu-
IrOpe in considerable quantities. The
/ wholesale value of the leaves IS from
one dollar to one dollar and fifty cents
/ per pound In Peru the use OF Coca Is
| very general especially among the ma
lives. The leaves, mixed with lime, are
| ch6Wed and the saliva swallowed, the
individual remaining quiet the while
/ As the enjoyment OF the Coca occurs
four times eacn day, and each time re-
! quires at least half an hour, 1t causes
no little interruption to work and to
/ travel. The effects of Goes are said to
/ be pleasurably Intoxicating, and those
] who become addicted to It's use rarely
abOndOn it. 1t is claimed that by the
use Coca the PeruVians can perform Il
! great amount of labor In the mines, and
as pOrters in carrying loads, upon very
little food The active principle, Coca
/ Inc (nOt 60 Cocaine, - as sometimes in
| correctly Written), has been separated.
! The process is expensive and the prod
uct small, hence the price has been very
high, the salts of Cocaine having been
sold at over q dollar a grain. In view
OF the probable increased demand for
Coca, it would be proper for our De-