382 A YEAR OF COSTA RICAN NATURAL HISTORY 



graded and telforded. It was built by the Purdy Engineer- 

 ing Co., an American firm, to an electric power plant which 

 they had begun in the Rio Grande caiion for new American 

 owners of the Aguacate gold mine. After leaving the public 

 road, which continues beyond the Tizate, this new road 

 entered the grounds of the plant, wound down among wat- 

 ered and consequently bright green pastures (in contrast to 

 the surrounding country) wherein horses and cattle were 

 feeding. By the roadside was a guachipelin with deep pink 

 blossoms. Where this road began the descent into the 

 caiion, the altitude was 1550 feet. Halfway down, at 

 1300 feet, were wooden houses with wire-screened windows 

 and running water piped from the rocky caiion side, re- 

 cently erected for the manager of the plant and his assist- 

 ants. The road then zigzagged down to the cafion floor, 

 where were some workshops, storage sheds, the beginning 

 of a tunnel for the water column which was to furnish the 

 power and m.any lengths of iron pipe, five feet in diameter, 

 bolted together and lying in position on the lowermost 

 section of the road. I had heard from Mr. Clark that the 

 heavy expenditures made here had been called in question 

 by the stockholders, on the ground that they were much 

 too great in proportion to the yield of the mine for which 

 they were primarily intended and it had been charged that 

 the stockholders had been deceived as to the real value of 

 the mine. I was not astonished, therefore, to find no work 

 going on. I had stopped at the manager's office to ask per- 

 mission to go down to the river but there was no one there 

 except native wom,en and children, who told me the manager 

 was in San Jose but would return about 10 A. M. As it was 

 then about 9 I decided to go down and ask permission after- 

 ward. After passing the shops I went on to the actual 

 water edge, here about 1060 feet above sea-level and did a 

 little collecting. The dragonflies I obtained at the canon 



