LITTLE-KXOWX PARTS OF PAXA^^IA 



633 



mingling their branches with those of 

 towering ficus, and, among herbaceous 

 plants, clematis and nettles side by side 

 with showy bignonias and fragrant epi- 

 phytic orchids. Bathed in the perpetual 

 but never excessive dampness of the 

 foaming river, sheltered from wind and 

 strong nightly radiation by the high sur- 

 rounding walls, and with an atmosphere 

 incessantly renewed, the hidden recesses 

 of these gorges assume, indeed, a singu- ■ 

 larly beautiful appearance. They are, 

 however, difficult of access, and not only 

 teem with insect life, but offer favorite 

 refuge for snakes, which are attracted 

 by the latter and, by the many small 

 mammals. 



Xear El Boquete the road leaves the 

 savannas to penetrate into the upper 

 Caldera \'alley. This is the favorite 

 summer resort of the Panamanians and 

 of many Canal Zone Americans, and also 

 the only coffee-growing section of the 

 Avhole Republic. On account of the pro- 

 hibitive tariff', the latter is one of the 

 best paying products of native agricul- 

 ture, and several foreigners have estab- 

 lished here prosperous plantations. But 

 El Boquete, half in the windy, semi-arid 

 zone and half in that of continued rains, 

 has a very limited producing capacity, 

 and cannot by far supply the rapidly 

 increasing coffee consumption of the 

 larger centers. It is not equipped, either, 

 for a summer resort, as the "Hotel de 

 Eino" is simply a farmhouse, where 

 abundant meals and a kindly hospitality 

 are the welcome but sometimes inade- 

 quate compensations for the lack of 

 worldly comfort. 



To the lover of nature, however, the 

 surrounding forests are forever a source 

 of healthy enjoyment, among which 

 orchid hunting is not the least exciting. 

 Several of the most highly prized species 

 hide on the moss-grown trees, and often 

 their exquisite perfume is the only indi- 

 cation of their near presence. X^ow and 

 then the eye is attracted by white or pink 

 patches of Trichopilias, or by the curi- 

 ously shaped although less conspicuous 

 flowers of some Catasetum (page 641). 



The visit to the Chiriqui Volcano is 

 usually made from here. It is an 8,000- 

 foot ascent to the top and is scarcely to 



be recommended to ladies. X'ot that it 

 off'ers any danger or even chances of 

 dramatic situations, but it is a straight 

 and exhausting climb, rendered difficult 

 at times by the unsteadiness of the loose 

 soil, the intricate thickets, and, even in 

 the upper belt, by high, tangled grass- 

 fields. Rocks, all of volcanic origin, are 

 seen only in deep gorges or near the 

 top ; snow and ice are out of the cjues- 

 tion ; and, though still called a volcano, 

 the Chiriqui Peak is a dead one, in which 

 only obsolete traces of former plutonic 

 action are to be seen. 



Still, the ascent is worth while, if made 

 at the right time. The trail leads first 

 through savannas and beautiful oak for- 

 ests, mixed with sweet cedars and other 

 subtropical trees, and as it goes higher 

 and higher, always straight toward the 

 top without any superfluous windings, 

 the attention of the traveler is distracted 

 from his toilsome physical exertion by 

 the successive appearance, in the middle 

 of a strange vegetation, of many famil- 

 iar-looking plants, like trailing bramble 

 vines loaded with luscious blackberries, 

 less welcome nettles, just like those seen 

 around old farm-houses in northern cli- 

 mates, alders, and the like. A formal 

 investigation of the flora of the upper 

 mountain belt would show, in fact, that 

 it is a mixture of a reduced endemic ele- 

 ment with representatives of the flora of 

 our northern countries and of the South 

 American Andes. 



It may be interesting to mention here 

 that along the trail, between two and 

 three thousand meters of elevation, 

 there are whole forests of a Persea tree, 

 which is a very near relative to the alli- 

 gator pear. It grows below and above 

 the frost-line, and we have repeatedly 

 advised its acclimatization in California, 

 where it could perhaps be used as a graft- 

 ing or budding stock. On account of its 

 hardiness, it is not unlikely that by its 

 means the extreme limit of alligator-pear 

 cultivation could be shifted a good dis- 

 tance northward. 



The long ascent to the top is not made 

 in one day. There is a first camp in a 

 picturesque gorge, about half way up 

 from El Boquete, and then another at 

 the bottom of the large northern crater, 



