352 A YEAR OF COSTA RICAN NATURAL HISTORY 



reached at 1.30 A. M. It is a well-built, clean, attractive 

 town with a fine church. Mr. Clark pointed out an Italian 

 mosaic set into the wall above the door, which he said was 

 an excellent example of such work. Unfortunately we could 

 not see much of it in the moonlight. The town is prosperous 

 and progressive; the richest sugar-cane in the country is 

 grown around it and we passed many trapiches on the edges 

 of the town and for some distance above. The crop is not 

 so heavy as in some lower places, but the proportion of 

 saccharin is higher and the juice richer, and it produces a 

 cleaner dulce. The cafiales here have the further advantage 

 that the cane never flowers at this altitude, consequently 

 it can be left standing for months in the fields, if the state 

 of the roads or of the market demands, without deteriora- 

 tion. In the lower fields cane will flower if left standing and 

 if rained on in that condition becomes absolutely worthless. 

 Moreover, if the field flowers freely, it must be replanted, 

 as after flowering the young shoots from the roots are not 

 so vigorous. It is said that everybody in San Pedro is rich 

 and the houses looked prosperous with their glass windows 

 and neat corridors. The municipality is also wealthy. 

 Some years ago the government allowed municipalities to 

 take up a certain amount of land — not necessarily adjacent 

 or even near to the municipality. After holding these lands 

 for a number of years it was discovered that they were sala- 

 ble, i. e., the town could use either the land itself or the money 

 derived from its sale. San Pedro was the first town to sell 

 its land and the resulting cash enabled the municipality to 

 pave its streets, level its plaza, put in electric lights and a 

 good system of waterworks supplying the whole town. 



After leaving San Pedro the road climbed upward quite 

 steadily. Half an hour above the town, about 2 A. M., 

 we dismounted to rest a few minutes and eat some chocolate. 

 It was very cold, fingers and toes being quite numb, and we 



