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The journey of thirty miles from this point to Orizaba, a drop of 
4,000 feet, is through some of the most splendid scenery to be 
found anywhere. 
rizaba is a celebrated resort for both summer and winter, 
having the right elevation (4,000 feet) and being charmingly sit- 
uated in a picturesque mountain valley. The frequent rains and 
fogs, which sometimes discourage the tourist, are an inspiration 
to the mycologist, who finds after each season of downpour a 
fresh crop of interesting fungi. 
On January 11, I went by street-car to Rio Blanco and fol- 
lowed a stream from that point up into the mountains, obtaining 
as many specimens as my baskets would hold. The next day, 
we drove to Rincon Grande and collected in the ravine near the 
falls and in the forest above, obtaining many fleshy fungi and a 
considerable number of mosses, liverworts, and ferns, which cover 
the moist, limestone cliffs here in great profusion. The third day 
was spent on horseback in the coffee plantations, where the rich 
m 
fungi of interest. On account of the damp weather, all these 
specimens had to be dried over the folding stove which we had 
in our outfit. 
Orizaba is one of the great coffee centers of Mexico, being the 
largest town in a coffee district of 700 square miles, which 
extends as far down as Paso del Macho. Banana plants are used 
to shade the coffee bushes, which, with proper warmth and mois- 
ture, begin to yield in three or four years. The crop was just 
maturing while we were there and natives were picking the red 
berries and drying them on level cement floors, preparatory to 
hulling and shipping the beans up to the large storehouses at 
Esperanza, where the air is dry. The annual export of coffee 
from Mexico amounts to about $6,000,000 in value. The flavor 
of coffee, like that of tobacco, depends quite as much upon its 
treatment after picking as before. Good coffee may be grown in 
almost any locality where the soil is rich in humus and well 
drained, and the altitude and latitude such that plenty of moisture, 
with a temperature never below 50° Fahr., will be insured. 
The market in Orizaba is well worth visiting at this season. 
