422 A YEAR OF COSTA RICAN NATURAL HISTORY 



July 19, 1831, and into a "cuidad" September 3, 1836. I saw 

 two churches, the larger of which was a temporary structure 

 with an unfinished west facade of stone standing detached. 

 West of this church was the plaza, with some fountains, 

 a band pavilion and young fig-trees. The town had a num- 

 ber of general stores, two of them kept by the ubiquitous 

 Chinese, two drug stores, post office, telegraph office, gov- 

 ernment building with governor's office, alcaldia and juzgado 

 civil y crimen, a cuartel or barracks and a commandancia de 

 policia. Other than the Chinese I believe that there were no 

 foreigners in Liberia, The population of Liberia on Decem- 

 ber 31, 1910, is officially stated as 2404. 



On the morning of January 10, Professor Tristan and I 

 went east along the main street to the smaller church, where 

 we turned aside and walked to the Rio Liberia, now quite 

 low. It was unbridged and we crossed on a log placed for 

 the purpose. A road led eastward from the river, between 

 potreros and charrals, wherein we collected although the 

 sky was clouded and insects were not abundant, while most 

 of the butterflies seen were faded and tattered. As we re- 

 turned to the river the sun was shining brightly and we 

 caught a number of interesting dragonflies by this clear- 

 water stream. In places the sand and clay banks were fif- 

 teen to twenty feet high; in other parts there were flat sandy 

 beaches through which the stream meandered. The current 

 was not rapid and there were few rocks. 



Senor Enrique Cortes, a resident of Liberia, had furnished 

 the horses which brought us here from Puerto Ballena and 

 had accompanied us hither. He had given us permission to 

 collect in his potreros, so on January 1 1 we went to his house 

 near the western end of the main street and with a young man 

 who had studied in the Liceo in San Jose as guide, walked 

 southwestwardly toward the Rio Liberia — for south of the 

 town this river makes a semicircular bend from east to 



