COBURN, Foster Dwight, American farmer and agricultural writer: b. Jefferson County, Wis., 7 May 1846. After serving in two Illinois infantry regiments during the Civil War he went to Kansas in 1867. The agricul ture of Kansas owes much to his expert knowl edge and enthusiasm. He became secretary of the Kansas board of agriculture in 1882, and later, in 1894, holding the position until he resigned, 1 July 1914. He was chief of the de partment of live stock at the Saint Louis Ex position (1904). He was repeatedly a member of the board of regents of the State Agricul tural College and president of the State Tem perance Union; was editor for five years of the Kansas Live Stock Indicator. He is vice president and director of the Prudential Trust Company, also of the Capitol Building and Loan Association, and director of the Bank of Topeka. In 1906 he refused an appointment as United States senator. He published 'Swine Husbandry' (1904); 'Alfalfa' (1901); 'The Book of Alfalfa' (1906); 'Swine in America' (1909); 'Farm Poultry); 'Silos and Silagc'; and about 30 volumes on agriculture published by the State of Kansas.
COCA (Erythroxylott coca), a shrubby plant belonging to the family Erythroxylacee, found wild in the mountainous regions of Peru and Bolivia, and cultivated in districts 2,000 to 5,000 feet or more above sea-level. The. leaves are gathered and dried in the sun, and chewed with a little powdered chalk. When taken in some quantity they produce an intoxication like that of opium. As the indulgence is repeated the appetite for it increases, while that for wholesome nourishment diminishes; the miser able victim loses all power of resisting his craving and becomes reduced to a condition of physical and mental prostration. When used in moderation coca lessens the appetite for food and enables those who have partaken of it to sustain greater fatigue than they otherwise could. It has been found the best preventive of asthmatic symptoms caused by. the rapid ascent of lofty mountains. An itifusion of the leaves is also used with the same effect.