318 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1921. 



so bedecked with flowers. Almost every tree bore flowers, either its 

 own or of some climbing, epiphytic or parasitic plant, while all 

 were further embellished by brightly colored (in part crimson or 

 scarlet) rosettelike tufts of "air plants" (bromeliads), or fronds 

 of ferns of many kinds. To the right, as one ascended the gentle 

 slope, rose, nearly 1,500 feet higher, the steep cinder-cone of the 

 volcano, seemingly so near that every detail could be distinctly seen 

 (pi. 4, fig. 2). To the left, overlooking a broad expanse of primeval for- 

 est, rose the long ridgelike mass of Irazu, the one mountain of Costa 

 Rica that is higher than Turrialba. The deep ravines on either side 

 of the gently sloping shoulder on which the hacienda rests were still 

 occupied by an impenetrable primeval growth. Here severe cold is 

 felt at night, especially during the months that correspond to our 

 winter, when ice frequently forms, on one occasion to the extent that 

 the water pipes supplying the house burst. These pipes were, how- 

 ever, laid above the ground. Even during our two visits, in March, 

 the nights were uncomfortably cold, and early in the morning the 

 pastures were white with frost. 13 Still, the vegetation here was com- 

 posed, at least in a large part, of tropical or subtropical types; 

 there were bamboos, at least one species of arborescent palm, tree 

 ferns, and many kinds of epiphytic bromeliads. The majority of the 

 trees belonged to genera or even orders unknown to me, not a single 

 genus of the North Temperate Zone being recognized. With so low 

 a temperature (which varies but little throughout the year, the 

 fluctuations of the thermometer being most marked within each 24 

 hours), it seems strange that so varied and beautiful a vegetation, 

 evidently in part at least of tropical affinities, could exist. Possibly 

 the explanation may be found in the absence of any sudden or very 

 great changes in temperature, and the gradual adaptation of the 

 flora to the conditions. It is said that, while ice frequently forms on 

 both Turrialba and Irazu, snow never falls on either. Why this 

 should be so may, perhaps, be explained by some meteorologist. 14 



In the beautiful park of El Paraiso birds seemed to be more 

 numerous than in other parts of the country, evidently because 

 they could be more easily seen. Large coal-black robins, with golden 

 beak and eye-ring, ran gracefully upon the greensward, and it was 

 rarely if ever that one was out of hearing of the twitter of 

 humming birds or the whir of their wings; among the latter being 

 a most brilliantly colored species (the Panterpe insignis), remark- 

 able for the fact that the sexes are quite alike in coloring. That 

 finest of all birds, the resplendent trogon or quetzal found here a 



18 Readings of a thermometer, in the shade, on March 27 were as follows : 5 a. m., 38* ; 

 6 : 30 a. m., 42* ; 1 p. m., Gl° ; 6 p. m., 52°. 



■* A possible explanation is suggested by the circumstance that a minimum temperature 

 and precipitation are rarely, if ever, coincident, the former occurring at night, the latter 

 during the day. 



