NATURAL HISTORY OF COSTA RICA — RIDGWAY. 307 



be mostly confined to such subjects as most interest a naturalist — 

 the climate, the appearance and composition of the forests, and the 

 animal life, especially the birds, since these were the special objects 

 of study. The temptation is strong, however, to digress to the ex- 

 tent of remarking that perhaps the most striking result of our ex- 

 perience was the conviction that many of our preconceived notions 

 concerning the Tropics are pure myths, and that the nomenclature 

 of the earth's climatic zones, as taught in our school geographies, is 

 sadly in need of revision. For example, it would far better express 

 the truth were the so-called Temperate Zone changed to Intemperate 

 Zone, and the former name transferred to the so-called Torrid Zone. 

 Certainly at no time and at no place was the heat of midday more 

 oppressive than it often is in July or August in the States, and the 

 nights, even in the tierra caliente of either coast, were invariably 

 cool and pleasant; while at higher altitudes, even in San Jose, the 

 nights were uncomfortably cool, since even the best houses are not 

 provided with means for artificial heating. 3 Pedestrian trips even 

 in the tierra caliente, though often requiring unusual exertion on 

 account of difficult ground or from having to cut one's way through 

 dense undergrowth, involved no more discomfort than a midday 

 ramble in midsummer at home. 



According to the popular notion, for which our textbooks are 

 largely responsible, the Tropics abound with reptiles, especially 

 poisonous snakes and boa constrictors. The fact is, that snakes of 

 any kind are no more often seen than in the United States. We saw 

 just three during six months, two of these being non-venomous kinds. 4 



Neither are tropical birds songless nor tropical flowers without 

 odor, as we have been taught; on the contrary, it is exceedingly 

 doubtful whether in any part of the temperate zone (so-called) there 

 are any birds with notes so thrilling as those of certain species found 

 in tropical countries ; and it is, or ought to be, well known that the 

 fragrance of many tropical flowers is almost overpowering. Nor is 



8 At the Government experimental farm at Santo Domingo de San Mateo, on the 

 Pacific coastal plain (the hottest part of the country), the director informed me that the 

 highest record for the station was 96°. The maximum temperature, however, is near 

 90° every day in the year, but the nights were invariably so cool that blankets were 

 required. At Coliblanco, about 6,500 feet above sea level, it was necessary to go to bed 

 under heavy blankets not later than 7 p. m. in order to keep warm. 



4 " There is a general impression among Europeans that tropical forests teem with 

 venomous snakes. Although I have spent the greater part of the last 10 years in the 

 forests of Venezuela and Colombia, I am ashamed to confess that I am not the hero of 

 any thrilling snake adventure. As a matter of fact, I never give snakes a thought, and 

 I will crawl through brushwood on hands and knees in search of any bird I may have 

 killed with as little concern as if I were in my own garden. But I respect wasps, 

 hornets, and ants." (Eugene Andr6, A Naturalist in the Guianas, p. 160.) 



During three month's residence in the Valley of Quito, Ecuador, Professor Orton saw 

 but one snake. (The Andes and the Amazon, p. 107.) 



