1890 Coca and its Therapeutic Application by Angelo Mariani

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which he will dip into the poporo in order that the llipta may adhere to its moistened part. He carefully carries the part of his little stick covered with Plipta to his quid, and thus performs the operation of mixing the alkaline powder with the masticated leaf, It is at this moment thatthe quid ofCoca affords the j-oung adult the most delightful sensation. His jaws munch it slowly, his tongue collects and rolls it up against the left cheek, all the papillcs of his mouth refresh themselves deliciously with the soothing and aromatic juices of the precious leaf, and by the slow and measured motions of deglutition,he carries with delight the precious juice into the pharynx and thence to the stomach. While he is ac complishing this important operation,his eyes swim with beatitude,over his entire countenance is diffused an ex pression of content and unutterable joy,and his right hand slowly turns the little stick around the upper part of the poporo, where are deposited little by little the particles of llipta and masticated Coca, which on leaving his mouth adhere to its extremity. The only occupation of the first days of the adult is the much-loved quid of Coca and the encrusting of his gourd, which we cannot do better than compare to the coating of the pipe, with this difference that our confirmed smokers blacken hundreds of their pipes during their existence, while the Indian encrusts only one gourd in his whole life; so that by the thickness of the crust formed around z.poporo, it is possible to judge the age of its owner- This crust, which hardly ever exceeds the thickness of a ring on the poporo of a young Indian,ends by reaching the dimension of the pileus of a large mushroom on the poporo of an old man. The crust is produced by the particles of Coca and llipta mixed with saliva which are deposited little by little about the mouth of the poporo by smearing with the stick. These deposits are brought about in an almost imper-

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