110 



NATURAL SCIENCE NEWS. 



which is the more probable solu- 

 tion of the problem. 



A word more about the Seven- 

 teen-year Cicada. Professor Or- 

 ton writes us from Yellow Springs, 

 Ohio, that this insect has done 

 great damage to the apple, peach 

 and quince trees and is shortening 

 the fruit crop very materially. By 

 boring into twigs bearing fruit, the 

 branches break and the fruit goes 

 with them. "Many orchards have 

 lost full two years growth. 

 Though the plum and cherry trees 

 seemed exempt, they attacked the 

 grape, blackberry, raspberry, elm 

 (white and slippery), maple, white 

 ash, willow, catalpa, honey-locust 

 and wild rose. We have traces of 

 the Cicada [this year from Colum- 

 bus, Ohio, to St. Louis. Wash- 

 ington and Philadelphia have also 

 had a visitation." — Packard's In- 

 sec/ C,lendar {1873). 



Costa Rica at the Exposition. 



The visitor in the^Anthropologi- 

 cal Building experienced a real 

 delight and relief in coming upon 

 the exhibit from Costa Rica. The 

 displays in its neighborhood (from 

 Mexico, Brazil and Paraguay)con- 

 tained much of interest, but were 

 inartistic and lacking in unity. 

 The Costa Rica was in some ways 

 a model. 



The pavilion itself is quaint and 

 attractive. A space of perhaps 

 fifty feet by thirty is enclosed by a 

 rather high board wall. Two door- 

 ways, facing each other, are in the 

 middle of the longer sides. These 

 doorways ■ reproduce ancient flat- 

 topped stone arches, decorated at 

 their top corners with coarsely 

 carved heads and squat figures. 

 Large oil paintings hang on the 

 external walls, one on each side of 

 each doorway. They are set in 

 wide gilded frames which are dec- 

 orated with fret patterns copied 

 from the stone ruins of Central 

 America at the sides, while the 

 upper border consists of enlarge- 

 ments copied from the grotesque 

 bird and other figurines of gold 

 which are found in the ancient 

 graves. The pictures represent: 



(a) an Indian hut from Talamanca, 



(b) a view on the Uren River, (c) 

 a chief's summer hut, in the Suerre 

 Valley, dating back to 1 544, (d) 

 an Indian hut in San Bernardo, 

 Sipurio, Uren Valley. 



Entering the pavilion the visitor 

 finds at the middle of the narrow- 

 er sides gilded medalions, one of 

 Vasquez de Coronado, the other 



of Isbel la Catolica. Each is the 

 centre of a trophy composed of 

 spears, bows, drums, nettings and 

 fabrics of the modern Indians of 

 Costa Rica. Upright frames, cop- 

 per bronzed, wtth ornamentation 

 derived from the old figurines con- 

 tain full length and about life-size 

 paintings of (a) a Talamanca In- 

 dian, with necklace of teeth, red 

 ribbon hair-band, staff and breech- 

 clout; (b) a Talamanca Indian 

 woman with a little boy standing 

 by her; the child is naked, while 

 the woman wears a narrow red 

 ribbon in her hair, a necklace of 

 narrow strands, and a skirt cloth 

 about her waist; (c) Indian of 

 Guatuso, seated on a stone with 

 hands on knees and wearing a 

 breech-clout; (d) an Indian wo- 

 man of Guatuso with waist cloth 

 and cap. On the broader walls 

 are also pictures, in horizontal 

 frames, green bronzed and with 

 ornamental patterns of frets and 

 figurines. These pictures are in 

 pairs, are on each side of each 

 doorway and represent old Guetar 

 graves, walled up with either 

 rough rounded stones or narrow 

 slabs. The details of construction 

 are shown and the methods of 

 archaeological exploration. All of 

 these oil paintings are by one ar- 

 tist — S. Llorente. The pavilion 

 containing four handsome upright 

 cases of oak, with plate glass 

 doors, constructed for display on 

 all sides, and with a crimson or 

 maroon background. In these 

 and in flat cases about the sides of 

 the pavilion is a choice series of 

 archaeological specimens. Ob- 

 jects too large for the cases are 

 arranged on individual supports in 

 various parts of the room. 



The ancient art of Costa Rica 

 is very near, if not identical, to 

 that of Chiriqui, so well described 

 by Mr. Holmes. In the series 

 here shown there are many nictates 

 or stones on which corn is ground. 

 Some of these appear to be quite 

 recent and are no doubt used by 

 the present Indians. They are 

 made from a grayish, porous, vol- 

 canic rock, and usually present a 

 rounded cornered, slightly basined, 

 squarish upper surface, on which 

 the grinding is done, supported by 

 queer animal, carvings. Stools of 

 similiar material are numerous. 

 These present fairly flat wind tops, 

 supported by a carved openwork 

 base, in geometrical patterns or 

 representing animals; sometimes a 

 band about the upper edge is 

 carved with a line of faces or gro- 

 tesque heads. Very common are 

 human heads, carved in the vol- 



canic material, displaying consid- 

 erable variety in feature, and some 

 with tattooed patterns on the 

 cheeks, or with headdresses. Less 

 common, apparently, are the 

 heads of mammalia, some of them 

 admirably done. Full length hu- 

 man figures, about a foot in 

 length, representing both sexes, 

 the sexual organs being, at times, 

 strongly marked, are not uncom- 

 mon. These are commonly in the 

 same position, the hands stiffiy 

 clasped upon the waist, the arms 

 to the elbows closely against the 

 sides. Yet more numerous are 

 the quaint little figures, some six 

 to ten inches high, squatting, with 

 knees drawn up in front and the 

 elbows resting on these. In some 

 cases both hands are held to the 

 chin or mouth; in others one hand 

 is at the mouth and the other is on 

 the knee. In almost, if not quite, 

 all of these the head is exaggerat- 

 edly long and frequently bears a 

 headdress or curious hair arrange- 

 ment. Many hold a somewhat 

 long cylindrical or barrel-shaped 

 object to the mouth, with one or 

 both hands. This object resem- 

 bles somewhat an ear of corn, but 

 the Costa Rica archaeologists, I 

 believe, consider it a cigar. In 

 the flat cases is a large series of 

 celts, or polished stone blades, 

 mostly of the usual Antillean or 

 Central American type. Many 

 more special forms of stone ob- 

 jects might be mentioned, but we 

 must pass to the fine series of pot- 

 tery. 



Here there are vases and jars of 

 many forms in colors, commonly 

 red or brown. Some are painted, 

 others decorated with grotesque 

 animal or human devices in relief; 

 others quite plain. Many of the 

 jars are tripod supported, and the 

 legs are frequently hollow and 

 with a little rattling ball of clay 

 inside. Terra cotta whistles are 

 plentiful — some simple, some in 

 bird forms, some human figurines. 

 Among these last are a few elab- 

 orate female figures, several inches 

 high, with a considerable number 

 of apertures to give a range of 

 notes. Some plain ones are dis- 

 tinctly ocarinas. Rare, apparently, 

 are the terra cotta rattles, copied 

 after gourd rattlr^, and body and 

 handle made in olio piece. Very 

 numerous are the little, flat, 

 round, spoon-shaped censers, with 

 handles wonderfully varied in or- 

 namentation. Scores of pottery 

 rings, like napkin rings, contract- 

 ed usually about a middle zone, 

 are plain, incised or decorated 

 with reliefs. In all the pottery, 



