of an Orchid Hunter, 



6d 



The number of inhabitants in Bogota fluctuates con- 

 siderably with the season. Many of the people 

 possess country-houses, or campos, and on the ap- 

 proach of the dry season they leave the crowded 

 town and take to the fields, where each one occupies 

 himself raising crops, tending cattle, or in the coffee 

 and banana plantations. One cause of the difference 

 in population according to the season is that a large 

 number of Indians come in from the hills brin^inor 

 the produce of their hunting or cultivation for sale 

 in Bogota, and in return buy what little they can 

 afford in the shops, and then leave for their mountain 

 homes till the next season. Another cause is the 

 constant string of foreigners arriving continually from 

 almost every country in the world ; these stay a 

 week, a fortnight, or a month, as business demands, 

 and they in turn seek other parts, where the com- 

 mercial traveller can tell yarns about his experiences in 

 Bogota and the road to it. 



The country is governed by the Senate and a 

 Chamber of Deputies, and these are directed by the 

 President. The President, Doctor Rafael Nunez, has 

 held this important position three times, his last term 

 of office extending over a period of six years, which 

 will terminate in July next year. Doctor Nunez does 

 not live in Bogota, but he is represented there by 

 a Vice-President, who is invested with acting power in 



