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The bananas of Costa Rica are asserted to be the finest imported into the United States. One of the chief merits of the bananas of Costa Rica is their superior hardness, the fruit always arriving in perfect preservation in spite of the time required for its transportation. Within the last year or two some of the finest fruit, on being re-shipped from New York to London, has brought 275. a bunch. The banana industry is so perfectly organised that little trouble is experienced even in the shipment of the immense quantities sent from Limon. Although the steamers engaged in this trade are very large, they are always provided with sufficient freight at Limon, so enormously has the industry developed during the last few years. The fruit business at present supplies the railway with the greater portion of its freights; and, as the road is being rapidly extended, and new areas are brought into cultivation, the tonnage of the railway company is constantly on the increase. Five hundred or more bunches can be obtained from each manzana-about 200 bunches to the acre. The profits seem enormous, when one reflects that some plantations give a net gain of from 60 to 80 per cent. per annum on the original cost. Others do not pay so well, but when attended to at all it is one of the most profitable crops known. Around Matma the cacao tree has been cultivated many years, and the soil of Costa Rica is well adapted to the production of this valuable article.

Although at the risk of making my extracts unreasonably long, I cannot refrain quoting a few words from one of my earliest favourites, whose felicity of language makes many of his works as readable as novels, and far more instructive.

Among the most important articles of husbandry among the ancient Mexicans, says Prescott), we may notice the banana, whose facility of cultivation and exuberant returns are so fatal to habits of systematic and hardy industry. Another plant was the cacao, the fruit of which furnished the chocolate-from the Mexican chocolatl-now so common a beverage throughout Europe. The vanilla, confined to a small district of the sea-coast, was used for the same purpose of flavouring their food and drink as with us. Oviedo considers the musa an imported plant, and Hernandez, in his copious catalogue, makes no mention of it; but Humboldt, who gave much attention to it, concluded that if some species were brought into the country, others were indigenous. If we may credit Clavigero, the banana was the forbidden fruit that tempted poor mother Eve.

It has often been contended, and with some reason, perhaps, that the very prodigality of nature in tropical regions is fatal to habits of settled industry, and I hardly like to press the claims of Central America on the ground of the rich return it yields to human labour. When the soil is so bountiful that it only requires to be scratched to yield plenteously all that man needs, he is tempted to waste his existence in sensual indulgence, though even then he can be induced to exert himself to obtain, in return for the superabundance of his own favoured region, those products which colder lands offer him. Large though the trade of Costa Rica is getting to be, it might be enormously increased, and a fresh outlet would be found for British capital and enterprise; the natives need directing and organising, and in doing so, many of our countrymen would find a splendid field for their abilities and wealth.

A few words dealing rather more scientifically with the cacao and the banana will supplement the description I have ventured to

reproduce. Plants of the chocolate family abound in mucilage, and many of them yield cordage. The seeds of Theobroma cacao, or cacao beans, are the chief ingredients in chocolate, which also contains sugar, arnatto, vanilla, and cinnamon; pressure makes them yield a fatty oil, cacao butter, which has little tendency to become rancid; they contain a crystalline principle analogous to caffeine, and called theobromine. The cocoa of the shops generally consists of roasted beans, and sometimes of the roasted coverings of the beans, ground to powder.

As Central America is a tropical, or rather an equinoctial region, and as I am anxious to present it with all its peculiarities just as it is to my readers, I feel that, in view of the ignorance often displayed on the subject, I must once more quote from Mr. Wallace, who is now, I am proud to say, a near neighbour of mine. That gifted writer draws pointed attention to the comparative scarcity of flowers in equinoctial forests.

It is a very general opinion among the inhabitants of temperate climes that amid the luxuriant vegetation of the tropics there must be a grand display of floral beauty; and this is supported by the number of large and showy flowers cultivated in our hothouses. The fact is, however, that in proportion as the general vegetation becomes more luxuriant, flowers form a less and less prominent feature ; and this rule applies not only to the tropics but to the temperate and frigid zones. It is amid the scanty vegetation of the higher mountains and towards the limits of perpetual snow, that Alpine flowers are most brilliant and conspicuous. Our own meadows and pastures and hill-sides produce mcre gay flowers than our woods and forests; and, in the tropics, it is where vegetation is less dense and luxuriant that flowers most abound. In the damp and uniform climate of the equatorial zone the mass of vegetation is greater and more varied than in any other part of the globe, but in the great virgin forests themselves flowers are rarely seen. After describing the forests of the Lower Amazon, Mr. Bates asks, “But where were the flowers?" To our great disappointment we saw none, or only such as were insignificant in appearance. Orchids are rare in the dense forests of the lowlands, and I believe it is now tolerably well ascertained that the majority of the forest trees of equatorial Brazil have small and inconspicuous flowers. My friend Dr. Richard Spruce assured me that by far the greater part of the plants gathered by him in equatorial America had inconspicuous green or white flowers. My own observations in the Aru Islands for six months, and in Borneo for more than a year, while living almost wholly in the forests, are quite in accordance with this. Conspicuous masses of showy flowers are so rare, that weeks and months may pass without observing a single flowering plant worthy of special admiration. Occasionally some tree or shrub will be seen covered with magnificent yellow, or crimson, or purple flowers, but it is usually an oasis of colour in a desert of verdure, and, therefore, hardly affects the general aspects of the vegetation. The equatorial forest is too gloomy for flowers, or generally even for much foliage, except for ferns and other shade-loving plants; and were it not that the forests are broken up by rivers and streams, by mountain ranges, by precipitous rocks and by deep ravines, there would be still fewer flowers. Some of the great foresttrees have showy blossoms, and when these are seen from an elevated point looking over an expanse of tree-tops, the effect is very grand; but nothing is more erroneous than the statement sometimes made that tropical forest-trees generally have showy flowers, for it is doubtful whether the proportion is at all greater in tropical than in temperate zones. On such natural exposures as steep mountain sides, the banks of the rivers or ledges of precipices, and on the margins of such artificial

openings as roads and forest clearings, whatever floral beauty is to be found in the more luxuriant parts of the tropics is exhibited. But even in such favourable situations it is not the abundance and beauty of the flowers, but the luxuriance of the foliage, and the grace and infinite variety of the forms of vegetation, that most attract the attention and extort the admiration of the traveller. Occasionally indeed you will come upon shrubs gay with blossoms or trees festooned with flowering creepers; but, on the other hand, you may travel a hundred miles and see nothing but the varied greens of the forest foliage and the deep gloom of its tangled recesses. In Mr. Bell's Naturalist in Nicaragua, he thus describes the great virgin forests of that country, which, being in a mountainous region, and on the margin of the equatorial zone, are among the most favourable examples." On each side of the road great trees towered up, carrying their crowns out of sight amongst a canopy of foliage, and with lianas hanging from nearly every bough, and passing from tree to tree, entangling the giants in a great network of coiling cables. Sometimes a tree appears covered with beautiful flowers, which do not belong to it, but to one of the lianas that twine through its branches, and send down great rope-like stems to the ground. Climbing ferns and vanilla cling to the trunks, and a thousand epiphytes perch themselves on the branches. Amongst these are large arums that send down aerial roots, tough and strong, and universally used instead of cordage by the natives. Amongst the undergrowth several small species of palms, varying in height from two to fifteen feet, are common; and now and then magnificent tree-ferns sending off their feathery crowns, twenty feet from the ground, delight the sight by their graceful elegance. Great broadleaved heliconias, leathery inclastomæ, and succulent-stemmed, lop-sided leaved, and flesh-coloured begonias, are abundant, and typical of tropical American forests; but not less so are the Cecropia trees, with their white stems, and large palmated leaves standing up like great candelabra. Sometimes the ground is carpeted with large flowers, yellow, pink, or white, that have fallen from some invisible tree-top above; or the air is filled with a delicious perfume, the source of which one seeks in vain, for the flowers which cause it are far overhead out of sight, lost in the great overshadowing crown of verdure."

But my subject is not exhausted, and I must hurry on and keep closely to Costa Rica and its concerns in the few pages remaining. I have said more than enough of the productions and climate to justify the claim I have made for it as one of the loveliest and most promising regions in the world; its mineral wealth seems inexhaustible, and copper and gold abound, while even coal is said to occur ; should that bear investigation, and should the quality be good or usable, it will materially increase the prosperity of the country.

One of the worst scandals of modern times has been the disastrous collapse of the Panama Canal scheme. The history of that ruinous undertaking is too recent to need more than mention. Ferdinand de Lesseps, trading on the reputation gained bp the successful opening of the Suez Canal-a success which engineers say he little deserved, and which was favoured by the configuration of the neck of land through which, with comparatively little trouble, the canal was cutturned his eyes on a part of the world where the difficulties were immeasurably greater, the climate far worse, and the magnitude of the operations incomparably more stupendous. Never was a more magnificent triumph offered to mortal man-to cut a canal which would unite the Atlantic and the Pacific, and open a way for half

the commerce of the world to the eastern shores of Asia ; but before the canal could be finished, lofty mountains, compared with which our largest ranges are insignificant, had to be pierced, tropical swamps to be traversed, and enormous works to be undertaken to regulate the height of the water-the last no easy task, seeing that the water is said to differ so greatly in level on the opposite sides of the isthmus. The same difficulty was, however, made in connection with the Suez Canal, and some engineers were filled with gloomy forebodings. It was actually represented that the prevalent winds piled the waters up so that they formed a sort of bank, which, as soon as the canal was opened, would pour through and make navigation impracticable. A difference of level there may be, but it is insignificant, and navigation has not been impeded, and probably the inter-oceanic canal would, when completed, not be inconvenienced by it. Ferdinand de Lesseps did not, properly speaking, originate the scheme; centuries ago the value of such a waterway had been seen, and year by year, with the development of commerce and the growth of wealth, its urgency had become more imperative. The Canal Company started with a modest demand-it only needed £12,000,000. That swelled before long to double; soon to £26,320,000; on to £42,800,000; then again to £60,000,000; next to £68,000,000; swelling to £73,000,000; on again to £100,000,000; and now an able engineer, M. Félix Paparet, tells us that for a narrow sea level canal 133,000,000, and for a wide sea canal 219,000,000 cubic metres of earth would still have to be removed. These are minimum quantities, and leave important and indispensable works out of the calculation. The fame of Lesseps is a thing of the past; the canal, as he designed it, is at a standstill, possibly never to be completed; but, though no engineer, I can see the vital importance of such a waterway, and its advantage to the trade of the world. Some day a canal will certainly be cut, whether wide or narrow, level, or ascending by a long succession of locks, time will determine. As I write this article I hear that a canal has been taken in hand, passing through Nicaragua, and using some of the lakes or rivers of that country. Perhaps the works undertaken by Lesseps will be completed, though engineers are not wanting who say that can never be; a waterway there will be, and the States of Central America will receive an enormous and incalculable impetus. Readers wishing to pursue the subject will find, in the Scottish Review, powerful articles on the subject in January 1888 and April 1889.

The Republics of Central America are advancing rapidly, and since the Panama Canal scheme was seen to be doomed, the immense energy with which Americans are pushing forward the Nica

ragua Canal has had a fresh impetus. The commercial schemes in all the Central American Republics have been on a still larger scale, while concessions of all sorts-grants of lands and mining monopolies are being rapidly obtained by English and Americans, who are determined to be first in the field. Large enterprises are already being talked of in Nicaragua, but Costa Rica has, in spite of all rivals, kept fairly to the front. Mr. Minor C. Keith, the contractor of the Costa Rican Railway, which is remarkable for its vast wealth of land and its banana and coffee plantations, has been the successful pioneer in this Republic, but his energies have been more directed to the Atlantic side of the country. Beyond the capital, San José, to the Pacific the climate alters somewhat, and on the Andes, which run down the Pacific side of the country, there is perpetual spring. The temperature immediately on the coast and at Puntarenas is higher, but the climate is said to be healthy. Beggars in Costa Rica are unknown, as the coffee and the banana enable all to live comfortably; in consequence of this good fortune the want of energy of the native Costa Ricans has been conspicuous; they have failed to develop new industries and to utilise the many resources of the country; but a brighter future is before the State. My brother has recognised the 'immense mineral wealth of the country, and, in connection with his partner and brother-in-law, Mr. Cyril Smith, Associate Member of the Institute of Civil Engineers, has lately visited this country, and as one result of his visit has formed an Association, with its head quarters in Tokenhouse Buildings, called the AngloAmerican Exploration and Development Company, which, with a registered capital of £50,000, has already obtained many valuable properties, and is negotiating for others. My brother's friends in London have also secured the titles to ten copper mines on a promontory on the Gulf of Nicoya, and propose that the best mines should at once be developed; that undertaking-the Potrero Land and Mining Syndicate has its head-quarters at 155 Fenchurch Street, E.C.

The actual traffic returns from the Custom House reports for the first half of 1889, give 134,705 sacks of coffee shipped at Puntarenas, while the total imports by steamer reached 10,041 tons, and those by sailing vessels 5,009.

Cartago, the ancient capital of the country, with its suburbs, is said to have a population of 25,000 to 30,000. It is thirteen miles by rail from San José, and 4,750 feet above sea level, while San José is 3,755. The mean temperature of Cartago for 1885 is given as 64°78 F.; the lowest temperature occurred at 4 A.M. January 11th, and was 59° F., and the highest was at 2 P.M. July 30th, and was

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