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NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



sites and hyper-parasites. The bird 

 fauna is scant in individuals but very 

 peculiar. Here is the haunt of the 

 famous quetzal or resplendent Trogon, 

 the remarkable bell-bird, an emerald 

 Paradise Tanager, a gigantic ant- 

 thrush, and a solitaire. The sun rarely 

 shines, and it rains almost every day 

 in the year. The extent to which this 

 Subtropical Zone occurs is unknown. 

 Hundreds of miles of the northern high- 

 lands of Nicaragua have never been 

 visited by a white man. 



II. BIOTA 



From the point of view of the natural- 

 ist, Nicaragua is a virtually untouched 

 paradise. Present biotic conditions are 

 apparently primeval in almost every 

 zone, faunal area, and ecological asso- 

 ciation defined above. Barring a few 

 banana plantations along some of the 

 rivers, and a little crude lumbering, the 

 Caribbean forest is uninhabited and 

 unvisited. The Subtropical Zone and 

 the Pine Forest Region are uninhabited. 

 The balance of the central and northern 

 highlands is very thinly settled, chiefly 

 by pure Indians, who never trap or 

 shoot. Primeval conditions are con- 

 sequently spoiled only in the immediate 

 vicinity of the few settlements. The 

 thickly settled Pacific Slope is the great 

 exception. While historical and scienti- 

 fic evidence concerning primeval con- 

 ditions is lacking, it may fairly be pre- 

 sumed that extensive cultivation, the 

 presence of several large cities and a 

 relatively large rural population has 

 profoundly modified original primeval 

 conditions, which now exist in a few 

 remote and isolated localities. Most 

 of this area could not be rated as better 

 than C2, according to the system of 

 classification adopted in this guide, 

 and much of it would be rated even 

 lower. 



III. NATURAL AREAS 



There are of course no Preserves of 

 any kind in so uncivilized a country. 



IV. WATER POLLUTION 



The entire absence of factories and 



industries makes it practically certain 

 that no polluted waters exist. 



V. DIRECTIONS FOR TRAVEL IN NICARAGUA 



The traveling scientist in Nicaragua 

 will be seriously handicapped by the 

 great difficulties in transportation. The 

 east coast can be reached by steamer 

 from New Orleans, and one can dis- 

 embark either at Cape Gracias or Blue- 

 fields where there are small settle- 

 ments. Grey town, indicated on all 

 maps as lying on the coast at the mouth 

 of the Rio San Juan, no longer exists. 

 From these centers travel or exploration 

 is practically limited to success in 

 hiring a launch or motor boat, and in 

 penetrating up the larger rivers where 

 there are banana plantations or lumber 

 camps, where the traveler is usually 

 received with cordial hospitality. Any 

 side trips into the wilderness require a 

 carefully planned expedition on a large 

 scale, dependent entirely upon man 

 packing in an exceedingly unhealthy 

 and rainy climate, and it is doubtful if 

 a party could average 20 mi. a day. On 

 only a few occasions has a traverse of 

 the country to the Pacific Slope been 

 made, and the two regions are entirely 

 out of communication with each other. 



Running from Panama to San Fran- 

 cisco the Pacific Mail Steamship Com- 

 pany's steamships stop at San Juan 

 del Sur and Corinto. From Corinto 

 the only railroad in Nicaragua runs to 

 the three big cities, Leon, 'Managua, 

 and Granada, on Lake Nicaragua. 

 From Granada a steamboat touches at 

 various points along the southern half 

 of the lake, the run terminating at San 

 Juan, where the Rio San Juan runs to 

 the Atlantic, as the outlet of the lake. 

 There are numerous rough roads and 

 trails along the Pacific side of the 

 country but they can be used only by 

 horses, mules, or a primitive type of 

 heavy ox cart with solid wheels. These 

 roads are usually impassable in the 

 rainy season. From Leon a road runs, 

 roughly speaking, northeast to Mata- 

 galpa in the central highlands, approxi- 



