The local consumption of coca is immense, as the Peruvian Indian reckons its habitual use among the prime necessaries of life, and is never seen without a leathern pouch filled with a provision of the leaves, and containing besides a small box of powdered unslaked lime. At least three times a day he rests from his work to chew his indispensable coca. Carefully taking a few leaves out of the bag, and removing their midribs, he first masticates them in the shape of a small ball, which is called an acullico; then repeatedly inserting a thin piece of moistened wood like a toothpick into the box of unslaked lime, he introduces the powder which remains attached to it into the acullico until the latter has acquired the requisite flavour. The saliva, which is abundantly secreted while chewing the pungent mixture, is mostly swallowed along with the green juice of the plant. When the acullico is exhausted, another is immediately prepared, for one seldom suffices. The corrosive sharpness of the unslaked lime requires some caution, and an unskilled coca-chewer runs the risk of burning his lips, as, for instance, the celebrated traveller Tschudi, who, by the advice of his muleteer, while crossing the high mountain-passes of the Andes, attempted to make an acullico, and instead of strengthening himself as he expected, merely added excruciating pain to the fatigues of the journey. The taste of coca is slightly bitter and aromatic, like that of bad green tea, but the addition of lime, or of the sharp ashes of the quinoa, renders it less disagreeable to the European palate. It is a remarkable fact that the Indians who regularly use coca require but little food, and when the dose is augmented are able to undergo the greatest fatigues without tasting almost anything else. Professor Pöppig ascribes this astonishing increase of endurance to a momentary excitement, which must necessarily be succeeded by a corresponding collapse, and therefore considers the use of coca absolutely hurtful. Tschudi, however, is of opinion that its moderate consumption, far from being injurious, is, on the contrary, extremely wholesome, and cites the examples of several Indians who, never allowing a day to pass without chewing their coca, attained the truly patriarchal age of one hundred and thirty years. The ordinary food of these people consists almost exclusively of roasted maize or barley, which is eaten dry without any other addition: and the obstinate obstructions caused by these mealy aliments are obviated by the tonic effects of the coca, which thus removes the cause of many maladies.