THE TOWN OF CART AGO AND ITS LIFE 37 



in slices. There seemed no end to the possibilities of the 

 chayote in cookery. This plant, under the name of "cho- 

 cho," is already grown in some parts of the southern United 

 States, particularly in Louisiana. In their seasons, anonas^ 

 mangoes, grenadillas (or "may-pops") and aguacates or 

 "alligator pears" as the Americans call them, were common, 

 while oranges and pineapples were good, plentiful and cheap 

 almost the whole year. Anonas or "custard apples" are 

 particularly delicious tropical fruits. Under a dull green or 

 brownish skin with indistinct overlapping scales is a rich, 

 juicy, finely flavored pulp of the consistency of a firm cus- 

 tard, in which are embedded a number of large, black, shiny 

 seeds about three-quarters of an inch long, the whole fruit 

 being six to eight inches long, three to four across. The 

 flavor suggests both grape and pineapple although it is quite 

 distinct from both. 



Good milk was obtained from several dairy farms, notably 

 the Lecheria belonging to Don RIcardo Jimenez, situated 

 on the upper slopes of Irazu at about 9000 feet elevation. 

 He not only sold milk but also made excellent butter, chiefly 

 for sale to the foreigners. Most Costa Ricans, certainly 

 all the poorer families, do not make or use butter at all. Any 

 surplus milk over the day's needs is made at once into a 

 soft white cheese, which is very good and often used on tor- 

 tillas as butter is used by those who are accustomed to the 

 latter article. 



Cartago was a market town and owed some of its impor- 

 tance to that fact, as it had no manufactures. Coffee and 

 cattle were the chief agricultural productions of the surround- 

 ing country. The market was a large enclosure near the 

 station, with corrugated iron roof; stores and a hotel occu- 

 pied the north and south sides, while the east and west ends 

 were merely fenced in. The great weekly market was held 

 early Sunday morning. Then the streets were full of country 



