August i, 1903.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



369 



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"DEL COK I !•'.. 



AIiMINIS I KA I KIN IiUILUINC AND Kl'HIlKR TREES. 



possible to put in ballast, such a condition of affairs had no 

 remedy. 



We reached Sunta Rosa in due time, and as a souvenir of my 

 visit, Mr. Ames gave me a cedrilla nut. a native remedy for all 

 kinds of snake bites, as well as for coast fevers. 1 have since 

 learned that the mahogany cutters, and other foresters of the 

 tropics, put great faith in it, and rarely venture into the forest 

 without it. 



Leaving the railroad we struck into the new trail already 

 mentioned, hid our luggage until a 111020 could be sent for it, 

 and started to walk to " La Buena Ventura." The rain had 

 ceased, the sun was shining brightly, and every bird in the for- 

 est was singing a song of rejoicing. Not always in tune, how- 

 ever, for the genuine feathered warbler of the hot country is 

 not at all musical. The chachilatta thinks it sings, but as a 

 matter of fact it simply " chachilatters," and that word just de- 

 scribes the sound. A sort of wild hen is this bird, and one that 

 is in constant hysterics. 



After a walk of about fifteen minutes, we emerged from the 

 forest and ascended to the higher ground where grows the rub- 

 ber. To our regret we arrived too late to join in a tapir hunt 

 that took place in that very orchard. The tapir is the largest 

 wild animal on the isthmus, and although quite plentiful, is so 

 shy that rarely seen. It is perfectly harmless, and its flesh is 

 esteemed a delicacy by the natives. One of them by some 

 chance wandered into the rubber, and the son of my host fired 

 a charge of shot, knocking him over. He recovered in an in- 

 stant, and rushed away, taking another charge with him. 



We did not tarry to talk tapir, however, but hastened on, both 

 of us anxious to get our mail. As I had received no letters 

 since leaving the city of Mexico, that longing had a reasonable 

 basis, but when I appreciated the difficulty in getting letters 

 through, I did not wonder at the delay, but marvelled that any 

 mail at all reached me. So we hastened on over the rubber 

 covered hills and finally reached the ridge on which stands the 

 house and on which too is grouped the marvelous collection of 

 tropical plants and trees referred to in a previous letter. Many 

 of these by the way were obtained through the courtesy of the 

 officials in far distant British botanical stations, notably, Cal- 

 cutta, Singapore, and stations on the west coast of Africa. In- 

 deed Mexico owes to these officials and to Mr. Harvey's enter- 

 prise the introduction of the mangosteen, jack fruit, bel fruit, 

 as well as the Kickxia Africana and the Hti'ea Brasiliensis. 



We reached the plantation house at last and everyone wel- 

 comed us warmly. The tame macaw, the little green parro- 



quette, Lora the parrot, and even Bola, the big yellow tomcat, 

 vied with the dogs in an enthusiastic ovation. Things seemed 

 to be about as we had left them, and except for the fact that my 

 black shoes had gathered a fur of green mold, and one of them 

 was occupied by an enormous spider, I was perfectly content. 

 Speaking of spiders, there are many of them, but they are the 

 least of the insect troubles. If let alone they are harmless and 

 not much in evidence, but the rodador, the pinoleo, the cha- 

 (jitista ! — they are looking for trouble. The rodador is like the 

 black fly of the North American woods. It is in some places most 

 abundant, and its bite raises an itching lump that lasts several 

 days. After a little, however, one becomes inoculated with 

 rodador virus, and the only result is a small black spot that 

 scales off without any itching or burning. They trouble some 

 newcomers exceedingly, but I found them only a slight dis- 

 comfort, not important enough to take any special precaution 

 to mitigate. 



Of the insects that are most easily domesticated, and that 

 attach themselves with instant affection to the passing traveler, 

 I should name the pinoleo, the conehudo, and the garrapata. 

 They are all related, and are of the tick family. The pinoho 

 has a habit of associating with himself several million others, 

 each one the size of a pin point, and hanging on a leaf or twig 

 over a trail where animals or men are accustomed to pass. 

 When the branch is touched, they instantly catch on to what- 

 ever touches it, and proceed to distribute themselves over the 

 body and seek for tender spots whereupon to feast. I had a 

 most abundant and energetic collection of pinoleos on several 

 occasions, but got rid of them without much trouble. 



The conchudo is simply a pinoleo that has not been blotted 

 out early in life, and who grows into a fairly sizeable tick. 

 He does not burrow into the flesh, but simply hangs on, 

 and grows fat off the animal of his adoption. The. garrapata 

 is the pinoleo grown to maturity, and is a good large ablebodied 

 tick that fastens himself upon his victim, and is very reluctant 

 to let go. Another little pest that troubles some people is the 

 chaquiste, a fly so minute that one can hardly see him, and that 

 hides itself in the hair of the head, its bite being like the sting 

 of an electric needle. 



There are of course mosquitos, although personally I was 

 troubled very little by them during the whole of my trip, and 

 ordinary fleas are to be found in the towns and cities from one 

 end of the country to the other. The insect that I most 

 dreaded, however, and which was described to me by many of 

 the old time residents, was the moyaquil. This is a grub which 



