291 / 374
DRlNks.
'
291
Markharn
^
also
.'^ys,
"
The
reliance
on
the
extra-
ordinary
virtues
of
the
Coca
leaf,
amongst
the
Peruvian
Indians,,
is
so
strong,
that,
in
the
Huanaco
province,
they
believe
that,
if
a
dying
man
can
taste
a
leaf
placed
on
,
his
tongue,
it
is
a
sure
sign
of
his
future
happiness."
He
also
gives
an
account
of the
modern
cultivation
of
the
plant.
Sowing
is
commenced
in
December
and
January,
:-
when
the
rains
begin,
which
continue
until
April.
The
seeds
are
spread
on
the
surface
of
the
soil
in
a
small
nursery
or
raising
ground
called
alindcigay
over
which
there
is
generally
a
thatch
roof
{huascichi).
At
the
end
of
about
a
fortnight
they
come
up
;
the
young
plants
being
continually
watered,
and
protected
from
the
sun
by
the
huascichi.
The
following
year
they
are transplanted
to
a
soil
specially
prepared
by
thorough
weeding,
and
breaking
up
the
clods
very
fine
by
hand
;
often
in
terraces
only
afford-
mg
room
for
a
single
row
of
plants,
up
the
side
of
the
mountains,
which
are
kept
up
by
small
stone
walls.
The
plants
are
generally
placed
in
square
holes
called
aspi,
a
foot
deep,
with
stones
on
the
sides
to
prevent
the
earth
from
falling
in.
Three
or
four
are
planted
in
each
hole,
and
grow
up
together.
In
Caravaya
and
Bolivia
the
soil
in
which
the
Coca
grows
is
composed
of
a
blackish
clay,
formed
from
the
decomposition
of
the
schists,
which
form
the
principal
geological
features
of
the
mountains.
On
level
ground
the
plants
are
placed
in
furrows
called
nachos,
separated
by
little
walls
of
earth,
umachas,
at
the
foot
of
each
of
*
Travels
in
Peru^
by
C.
R.
Markham,
1862,
p.
237.