428 A YEAR OF COSTA RICAN NATURAL HISTORY 



On January 12 I went alone to the north of the town, to 

 the Quebrada de Panteon de Liberia, a walk of hardly more 

 than live minutes from the school. A small brook flowed 

 along the south side of the cemetery, hence the name. The 

 little ravine had rocky banks of the same character as the 

 streets of Liberia, with here and there little sandy beaches. 

 The rock of the bottom was grooved or worn into holes, some 

 of them apparently pot-holes; some of the grooves, a foot 

 or more deep, had been made or at least deepened by man. 

 The water at this time was low and although still flowing 

 slightly was more or less separated into pools. The stream 

 was spanned by a small wooden bridge, evidently for the use 

 of those going to the cemetery, but just now one could step 

 across the water from bank to bank and both sides were 

 shaded with low trees and shrubs. On the rocks were numer- 

 ous adult and immature "grouse-locusts" or Tettigids, rep- 

 resenting at least two species {Telmatettix aztecus and 

 Clypeotettix schochii) all colored more or less in correspond- 

 ence with the gray or blackish rocks, in the tiny depressions 

 of which they were nestling. I gathered over seventy of 

 them in about fifteen minutes. Exuviae of Odonata, a shed 

 snake's skin, a tiger beetle and a few butterflies were other 

 objects seen on these rocks. 



Late in the afternoon we came again to this Quebrada, 

 taking a photograph or two; one was of a zapote tree {Lu- 

 cuma or Calocarpum mammosum) we passed, growing behind 

 the barracks. It had undivided shining green leaves in 

 clusters and russet-colored fruits the size of an orange, which 

 are said to be delicious when ripe. Those I found on the 

 ground under this tree were pronounced unripe. Farther 

 north on the same street was a tree called "carao" {Cassia 

 grandis) remarkable for the length of its thick and woody 

 pods, which is no less than two to three feet. 



On the morning of January 13 I followed the telegraph 



