“I have examined the soil in which _Coca_ is cultivated, and almost everywhere have found it composed of sandy, argillaceous earth, softish to the touch; it originates in the decay of the schists which form the chief geological feature of these mountains. The soil of the Coca plantation is, in one word, formed of what we call primitive or normal earth, but it is naturally mixed with an abundance of angular fragments of unaltered schist which, if not removed, would interfere with the growth of the roots. This is therefore done by the cultivator while preparing the furrows for the reception of the shrubs, the stones being employed for the little walls before spoken of; indeed, these little walls, or _umachas_, are often formed entirely of the stones thus met with. I need hardly say that it is to the greater or less perfection to which this preliminary operation is carried, and to the labours incurred subsequently in stirring up the soil from time to time, and in keeping it free from weeds, that the _haciendero_ owes the abundance of his crops. The last operation I have mentioned is especially needful while the shrubs are young. The weeding, which is regularly performed after each crop has been collected, is called _mazi_. “The collection of the leaves of the _Erythroxylon_ is performed much in the same way as that of tea. It is, in general, women and children that are employed upon this operation, which is all the easier from the presence of the little walls separating the furrows of the plantation. The gatherer squats down, and, holding with one hand the branch she wishes to pluck, removes with the other all the leaves, often one by one. The leaves are deposited in a cloth, which each Indian carries with her, and afterwards collected in sacks or some other recipients to be carried from the plantation. “Nothing is now easier than the preparation of the _Coca_. The leaves are carried from the plantation to the house, or _casa de hacienda_, where they are spread out in the sun, in little courts constructed especially for the purpose, and the floors of which are formed of slabs of black schist (_pizara_); if the weather is fine, they are left there until completely dry, which takes place without their shape becoming altered. They are then packed with strong pressure into bags made of the sheath of the banana leaf, strengthened with an outer covering of coarse woollen canvas. The bales thus formed contain, on an average, twenty-four pounds of leaves, and go by the name of _cestos_. The _tambor_ is a bale of double the size of the _cesto_, whose price at La Paz varies from 4½ to 6 piastres” (18s. to 24s.).[15]