COBURG FAMILY. 92 COCCEIANS. COBURG FAMILY. An old Germaa ducal family, datiiij; fioiu the fifteenth century, which has contracted various alliances with the En^dish and Continental royal houses. Queen Victoria's mother was a sister of Uuke Ernest I. of Coburg. The first wife of Ernest's brother, Leopold 1., King of Belgium, was a daughter of George IV., of England, and liis second wife was a daughter of Louis Philippe. Alliert (q.v. ). the son of Ernest I., was the luisband of Victoria. COBTJRG PENINSTJLA. A peninsula on the north coast of Australia, lying west of the Gulf of Carpentaria. It extends in a northwesterly di- rection toward Melville Island, from which it is divided by Dundas Strait (Maj): North Aus- tralia, E 1). .On its northeast side is the bay known as Port Essington, at the head of which, about latitude 11° 22' S., longitude 132° 10' E., was established, in 18.30, the settlement of Victoria — abandoned, on account of its in- salubrity, six years later. The district abounds with swamp buffaloes which were originally im- ported from Java. COB'WEB. The web woven by spiders, ])rin- cipally by small, slim spiders of the family The- ridiid*. See Spider. COBWEB. One of the four fairies that appear in Act iii.. Scene I, and Act iv.. Scene 1, of Shakespeare's Midsummer Xight's Dream: a dainty creation who speaks just three words dur- ing the entire play. CO'CA (So. Amer. name). Eriitliroxyloii co- ca. A shrul) of the natural order Erythroxy- lacese. of which the leaves are much used by the inhabitants of Peru and Bolivia as a narcotic and stimulant. (For illuslratinn, see Plate of Cornflower.) The dried leaves are chewed with a little fineh' powdered unslaked lime or with the alkaline ashes of the quinoa (q.v.). or certain other plants. The principal constituents of coca are cocaine, and several derivatives, hy- grine, cocatannic acid, etc. As a local anaesthetic the alkaloid cocaine is unexcelled. The conuuon forms of administering arc in the wine of coca, a fluid extract., and the alkaloid cocaine. The properties and effects of coca resemble those of opium, although it is less narcotic, while it pos- sesses the property of dilating the pupil of the eye. which opium does not possess. It also les- sens the desii'e for ordinary food, and for some time, at least, enables the person who iises it to endure greater and more protracted exertion than he otherwise could, and with less food. The leaves are sometimes mixed with forage for mules, when especially long trips are taken. It is especially remarkable for its property of pre- venting the diflficnlty of respiration, so common in the ascent of long and steep slopes at great elevations. But when used habitually and in excess, it weakens the digestion, produces biliary and other disorders, and finally induces a miser- able ruin both of body and mind. It has been in use from a very remote ))eriod among the Indians of South -America, and was extensively cultivated before the Spanish conquest. Many of the Indians of the Peruvian Andes are to this day excessively addicted to it, and its use prevails also to a considerable extent among (he other inhabitants of the same regions. Its culture and use have extended into Brazil. (See Cocaine.) The shrub is extensively cultivated in various parts of South .meriea and in Ceylon, India, and Java. It could probably be grown in parts of Florida and California. The shrub is 3-6 feet high, with rusty brandies and leaves some- what like tea-leaves, which are borne on the' ends of the branches, the small yellow (lowers some distance below. The annual production of leaves in South American trade is estimated at 30 to 50 million pounds. There are many other species of Er'tliroxyIon in addition to Erythroxylon coca. The name is from the red wood of some species. COCADRILLE, kok'a-dril. A monster de- scribed iy Sir .John ilandeville as living on the island of Silha, and corresponding to the croco- dile, of which ithe word is an early form. COCAINE, k.-/ka-In, C,,H„,XO,. An alkaloid derived from coca - leaves. The hydrochlorate, CnHjiXOjHCl, produces temporary insensibility when applied to the conjunctiva, mucous mem- branes, or denuded surfaces, or when injected beneatli the skin. It is not absorbed by the un- broken skin, however. It also causes a tempo- rary contraction of the blood-vessels of the region anie^thetized, but this is followed by congestion. Applied to the conjunctiva, it causes ancesthesia, dilatation of the pupil, diminution of intraocular tension, and some interference with accommoda- tion. For dilating the pupil it is sometimes em- ployed in combination with homatropine (q.v.). As a local aiucsthetic for regions co-ered by skin it is injected in solution, by a hypodermic needle, into the tissue which is to be ansesthe- tized. The toxic dose varies greatly, some per- sons being unfavorably affected by a small amount. The only result may be restlessness and excitement, or there may be headache, rapid respiration, delirium, coma, or convulsions, with wide dilatation of the pupils. Persons addicted to the cocaine habit use the drug internally or by hypodermic injection. Its prolonged use causes digestive disturbance, general weakness of mind and body, muscular twitching, and insom- nia. Within recent years cocaine has been success- fully employed as an anaesthetic in major .sur- gical operations; if injected into the spinal col- umn, cocaine has the remarkable effect of pro- ducing complete insensibility to pain in the entire jiart of the body below the point where it is injected, but no ed'ect at all above that point. The advantage of not causing auiethesia where it is unnecessary is obvious: nor does cocaine, in the hands of an expert surgeon, produce any disagreeable after-effects. See Alkaloids. COCANADA. ko'ka-na'da (corrupted from Telugii knkhuuU) . The capital of the Godavari District, Madras, India, 31omiles north-northeast of Madras, and after that city, the principal port on the Coromandel coast (Map: India. D 5). Navigable canals connect it with the Godavari River at Dowlaishwaram. The commercial estab- lishments and docks of the town are on the banks of one of these canals which leads to the pro- tected roadstead in Coringa Bay. It has a light- house visible fourteen miles. Large quantities of cotton are exported, and there are exports also of rice, sugar, oil-seeds, and cigars. Popu- lation, 41,000. COCCAJO, Merliko. See Merlino Coccajo. COCCEIANS, kok-se'yanz. The name given to the adherents of Johannes Coccejus. the sev- enteenth-century theologian ((j.v. ). who held
