of an Orchid Hunter 



i i i 



the Hill." This place contains about 12,000 inhabit- 

 ants — peaceable, industrious people, mostly employed 

 in making cigars and straw hats, as well as in agri- 

 cultural pursuits. In the whole of my variations in 



» * LI 1 1 



J1HHBHMM 

 >> 1 ! 



-ft 







PLAZA OF PIE DE CUESTA. 



life and circumstances I have found no town or village 

 I have liked so much as the quiet, beautiful, dreamy 

 old town of Pie de Cuesta — about 3,500 feet above 

 the level of the sea, with something like twelve hours 

 of day and twelve hours of night all the year round, a 

 mild, balmy air which is never oppressively hot or 

 disagreeably cold, an abundance of pure water, and a 



