CHAPTEE 



Juigalpa A Nicaraguan family Description of the road from Jni- 

 galpa to Santo Domingo Comparative scarcity of insects in 

 Nicaragua in 1872 Water- bearing plants Insect traps The 

 south-western edge of the forest region Influence of cultiva- 

 tion upon it Sagacity of the mule. 



THE site of Juigalpa is beautifully chosen, as is usual 

 with the old Indian towns. It is on a level dry piece of 

 land, about three hundred feet above the river. A 

 rocky brook behind the town supplies the water for 

 drinking and cooking purposes. The large square or 

 plaza has the church at one end ; on the other three 

 sides are red-tiled adobe houses and stores, with floors of 

 clay or red bricks. Streets branch off at right angles 

 from the square, and are crossed by others. The best 

 houses are those nearest the square ; those on the out- 

 skirts are mere thatched hovels, with open sides of 

 bamboo poles. The house I stayed at was at the corner 

 of one of the square blocks, and from the angle the view 

 extended in four directions along the level roads. Each 

 way the prospect was bounded by hills in the distance. 

 North-east were the white cliffs of the Amerrique range, 

 mantled with dark woods ; and as the intervening 

 country could not be seen, and only a small portion of 

 the range itself, framed in, as it were, by the sides of the 

 street, it looked close at hand, and like a piece of arti- 



