NATURAL, HISTORY OF COSTA RICA RIDGWAY. 305 



at an elevation of 3,500 feet. From San Jose are plainly visible the 

 volcanoes of Irazii, Barba, and Poas, of the central range; in the 

 opposite direction the Candelaria Mountains are seen so clearly that 

 the fields of sugar cane, maize, and rice which cover their slopes can 

 easily be recognized by the hue of green peculiar to each, while close 

 to the summit of the highest peak the gigantic evergreen oaks are 

 clearly silhouetted against the sky. 



From San Jose to the Pacific Ocean extends a region greatly dif- 

 ferent in appearance and climate from that of the eastern or Carib- 

 bean slope. The latter is a region of perennial rains; indeed, the 

 rainfall is excessive during a considerable portion of the year, and 

 even during the drier months there are daily showers, mostly "sun 

 showers" of short duration, though often several occur each day, 

 the higher portions of the mountains being perpetually saturated 

 with rain or dense, wet fogs. 1 On the Pacific slope, however, the 

 year is sharply divided into two very different seasons, a wet and 

 a dry, each of six months duration. The inhabitants speak of the 

 former as their winter (el invierno), the latter as their summer 

 (el verano). The dry season is practically rainless and cloudless; 

 many trees shed their foliage as completely as do those of northern 

 countries in winter; 2 pastures become poor, and toward the end of 

 the season conditions of severe drought often prevail. On the other 

 hand, the forests, pastures, and plantations of the Caribbean slope 

 are perpetually green ; the trees shed their leaves, to be sure, but, 

 except relatively very few species, they are dropped one by one 

 or a few at a time and are at once replaced by new ones. 



Two visits were made to Costa Rica, one covering about six and 

 the other three months, during which the country was traversed from 

 ocean to ocean and from sea level to the summit of several of the 

 highest mountains. A study of the bird life was the main purpose 

 of the explorations, and a large and valuable collection was made 

 for the United States National Museum. In this work every pos- 

 sible assistance was rendered by the Government of Costa Rica, 

 which generously detailed the taxidermist of the Museo Nacional 

 to accompany the writer during his different excursions, besides ex- 

 tending other courtesies ; and also by my friends Senor Don Jose C. 

 Zeledon, and Senor Don Anastasio Alfaro, director of the Museo 



1 The average annual rainfall of the Caribbean slope is said to be from 230 to .°.00 

 inches, and at one station, Sarapiquf, on the northern slope, 112 inches were recorded 

 during the month of December alone, while at Puerto Limdn there was a rainfall of 41 

 inches in three days. 



1 In some parts of the Pacific slope, as, for example, in the forests of the Rio Grande 

 de Tarcoles, I estimated that between one-third and one-half of the trees were leafless. 



