38 A YEAR OF COSTA RICAN NATURAL HISTORY 



folk and ox-carts, the shops were all open, everyone wore 

 his or her gayest and best, and it was one of our pleasures 

 to wander about the market at that time. There were few 

 stalls or booths except those in which shoes, clothing or 

 imported enamelware were sold. Most of the market people 

 squatted on the cement floor with their wares about them — 

 sacks of oranges or lemons, little heaps of vegetables, and 

 fruits, beautiful flowers, unglazed pottery of local manufac- 

 ture, polished cows' horns and quite artistic combs and pins 

 made of the horn, tanned hides from which sandals could 

 be cut and equipped with thongs all ready for wear, while 

 the customer waited, sacks of green coffee and great quan- 

 tities of beans, maize and rice. Little wheat is grown in 

 Costa Rica and the imported wheat flour is rather costly. 

 Outside of the towns the tortillas made of ground maize 

 are the staple bread stuff and are very good when hot and 

 freshly made. We found them dry and unpalatable when 

 they were cold. In the towns excellent bread is made of 

 wheat flour and is used except by the poorer people. There 

 were also little charcoal stoves over which tortillas were 

 baked, coffee boiled or black beans or rice cooked for sale 

 in the market, and coops of live fowls at times or perhaps 

 one or two held by a string about one leg. No cattle, pigs 

 or horses were sold in this market as there was a weekly 

 cattle market in another part of town, on Thursdays. At 

 festival times there appeared great numbers of shiny tin 

 ornaments, flowers and candle-holders, destined to adorn 

 the shrines of favorite saints. 



Tortillas being a staple food, the grinding of the maize 

 into meal is a daily occupation of the poorer Costa Rican 

 women. The native instruments are the "piedra" (stone), 

 a large block of the common lava, the upper surface smoothed 

 and slightly hollowed, and the "mano de piedra," a sort of 

 stone rolling-pin without handles. The piedra may be much 



