274 



COSTA RICA. 



CRAB-FARMING. 



steamers between San Francisco and Panama, 

 to touch at intermediate ports. The line will be 

 known as the " Hispano-Centro-Americana," 

 and its steamers will carry the Spanish flag. 

 The vessels are to touch at Pimtarenas and 

 whatever other ports may be opened on the 

 Pacific side of Costa Rica, at least once a week, 

 and carry all mail-matter. 



The Costa Rican Government requires that 

 the steamship company shall care for and in- 

 struct eight young men of that country on 

 each of its seven steamers, who shall be ap- 

 pointed by a commission after competitive ex- 

 amination. These will be placed on board 

 the steamers as apprentices, and, after a cer- 

 tain number of years' service and competitive 

 examination, will be given diplomas as sea-cap- 

 tains and engineers. The Government agrees 

 to grant a rebate of 5 per cent, on the duties 

 of merchandise shipped on board the vessels 

 of the company, to give the company eighteen 

 acres of land for the construction of ware- 

 houses, and a subsidy of $10,000 per annum for 

 the first five years of the contract and $8,000 

 per annum for the remaining five years. The 

 operation of the line was to begin not later 

 than Oct. 15, 1886. 



Textile Indnstry. The Government further- 

 more conceded to Messrs. P. W. and E. G. 

 Chamberlain the privilege for two years of 

 introducing into the country duty free, ma- 

 chinery and accessories necessary for the prep- 

 aration of textile fiber grown in the republic ; 

 and for a term of fifteen years, free of duuy 

 and wharfage, of the chemical substances and 

 coal they may need for the purpose. 



The Government granted, early in January, 

 to Federico Velarde, the privilege of import- 

 ing, duty free, woolen yarns, twist, and thrown 

 silk, for the manufacture of fabrics, whether 

 those yarns be bleached or dyed. 



Minerals* Rock-crystal and placer-gold are 

 found in the Cuesta Blanca, on the Pacaca 

 road; onyx in Pacaca; amethysts in the Colo- 

 rado salines and the Barbudal mountain, where 

 handsome jasper is also met with. Opals are 

 found in Candelaria ; labradorite in the mount- 

 ains north of Raicero ; kaolin abounds in San 

 Ramon ; lime for cement in Candelaria ; phos- 

 phate of lime in San Antonio; and valuable 

 iron-ore on the coast at Sardinal. 



Commerce! The following is a tabular state- 

 ment of the foreign trade in 1885 : 



IMPORTATION. 



COUNTRIES. Valne. 



From England $1,687,940 



From France 448,802 



From Germany 605,016 



From the United States 856,645 



From other countries 68,028 



The export of coffee from Costa Rica in 1885 

 was: 



Total.. 



EXPORTATION. 



To England $1,362,190 



To France 825,212 



To Germany 375,192 



To the United States 1,058.519 



To other countries 175,395 



Total $3,296,508 



The American trade for the fiscal year, 1886, 

 was as follows: 



Import from Costa Rica into the United States $898,045 



Domestic export from the United States to Costa 

 liica. 548,215 



Education. There were in Costa Rica on 

 Jan. 1, 1886, 115 primary public schools for 

 boys, and 101 for girls; together, 215 schools. 

 The number of children of school age was 32,- 

 306, of whom 17,026 were boys and 15,280 

 girls. Assuming the population then to have 

 been 193,144, the proportion was one school 

 child to six inhabitants. The number of chil- 

 dren attending school was 13,413, of whom 

 7,355 were boys and 6,058 girls. Of private 

 primary schools there were 86, attended by 

 1,042 male pupils and 819 female pupils; to- 

 gether, 1,861 scholars. The school-tax pro- 

 duced, in the seven provinces together, $24,489. 



CRAB-FARMING. The increasing demand for 

 edible crabs in the great seaboard markets has 

 led the fishermen of the neighboring coasts, 

 especially that of New Jersey, to adopt a sys- 

 tem of crab-culture, or rather of crab-preserva- 

 tion, which renders it possible to market the 

 catch in far better condition than formerly. 

 This is known as " crab-farming," but it hard- 

 ly merits the name, as it has not yet advanced 

 beyond the protection of the crabs from their 

 natural enemies. Those that are engaged in 

 the business pay little attention to breeding. 

 They know that during September the season 

 properly ends, because the female crab carries 

 about with her a spongy substance, consisting 

 of thousands of small eggs. These are hatched 

 in due time, and, except after very severe win- 

 ters, the supply of young crabs is abundant, but 

 they are not large enough for market before 

 the second year. 



Tn May the mature crabs emerge from their 

 winter- quarters in the deep mud, and appear 

 in shallow water, where they are netted in 

 large numbers and sorted out, according to 

 condition, into circular stockades or pens made 

 of stakes driven close together in the shallows. 

 Crabs are in their best edible condition when 

 they outgrow and shed their hard shells and 

 emerge very fat, and with shells so thin that 

 they are properly called "soft-shelled crabs, 1 ' 

 though they are not, as is supposed by many, 

 a distinct species. When captured in this state 

 the crab is sent to market at once, as his shell 

 hardens in a few hours if suffered to remain iu 



