ALAJUELA AND THE VOLCANO POAS 



347 



brightest green. A few of these, like the guapinol, even put 

 out new leaves while the old ones are falling. Other legumes 

 retain their leaves until near the end of summer, shed them 

 quickly and at once reclothe themselves so that they are in 

 full green leaf before the rains begin. Other trees again are 

 bare and leafless through the greater part of the dry season 

 but put out their new leaves about a month before the 

 rains. The guanacaste belongs to this category. It is not 

 the first shower of the rains that causes the new leaves to 

 burst forth, neither is it always the trees with delicate foliage 

 that are bare through the dry season, while some trees with 

 leathery leaves such as the wild figs or higuerones {Ficus sp.) 

 drop their leaves entirely in the middle of the rainy season. 

 The higuerones, In fact, shed their leaves and present bare 

 branches twice in each year, in many very different locali- 

 ties. Nevertheless many species await the beginning of the 

 rains to shoot forth, and still others linger a month after the 

 rains have begun. It is also to be noted that many trees 

 which ordinarily lose their leaves will retain them if they 

 happen to be growing In an unusually well-watered situation 

 such as a stream valley. 



Although January is in the dry season, occasional showers 

 occur in some years. The January weather, from 6 A. M. 

 to 6 P. M. each day, was watched with the greatest interest 

 by the country people around Alajuela, as It was supposed 

 to foretell accurately what the weather would be throughout 

 the year. The "pintas," as they are called, have the fol- 

 lowing significance: 



January i = January 

 January 2 = February 

 January 3 = March 

 January 4 = April 

 January 5 = May 

 January 6 = June 



January 7 = July 

 January 8 = August 

 January 9 = September 

 January 10 = October 

 January 11= November 

 January 12 = December 



