Guatemala's bird of freedom. 187 



in bulk and in money value, is that of corn, the uses of 

 which are known to everyone. In some parts of the west, 

 away from the market centers, where corn is abundant 

 and wood scarce, it is used as fuel and answers the pur- 

 pose admirably. There is literally " corn to burn." 



From the Census Report of 1900 I have taken the 

 following estimate of the quantity and value of cereal crops 

 for the 3'ear 1899 : 



Corn, 2666 million bushels, valued at 828 million dollars. 



Wheat, 628 " " " " 369 



Oats, 943 •' " " " 217 " 



Barley, 120 '* " " " 41 " " 



Rye, 25 " " " " 12 " " 



Rice. 4 " " " " 7 " " 



Kafir Corn, 5 " " " " i " " 



Total, 4391 million bushels, 1475 million dollars. 



Guatemala's Bird of Freedom. 



BV EDWARD J. BURNHAM. 



In these days of stamp-collecting, most young people 

 have seen postage stamps from Guatemala, and are more 

 or less familiar with the figure of the beautiful bird which 

 that little Central American republic long ago selected as 

 its national emblem. It is one of the trogons, a family of 

 birds found only in the tropics, and more abundant in Cen- 

 tral and South America than anywhere else in the world. 



Guatemala's bird of freedom is the most beautiful of all 

 the trogons, but is rarely seen away from its home in the 

 dense forests on the high ridge that forms the backbone, 

 as it were, of Central America. There are two reasons for 

 this, one being that it soon dies in captivity, and the other 

 that there are severe penalties of fine and long imprison- 

 ment for any one who kills, captures or in any way disturbs 

 it. It is because it cannot endure captivity that it was 



