cossus 166 COSTA RICA 1570 they built their principal "stanitza" and rendezvous, called Tcherkask, on the Don, not far above its mouth. As it was rendered unhealthful by the overflowing of the island on which it stood, New Tcherkask was founded in 1805 some miles from the old city, to which nearly all the inhabitants removed. This forms the capital of the country of the Don Cossacks, which constituted, under the Empire, a government of Russia, and has an area of 63,532 square miles, pop. 3,291,000. Their war strength numbers 5,000 officers and 175,000 men. Reserve, 300,000 officers and men. See Russia. COSSUS, a genus of nocturnal lepidop- tera, family hepialidss or ghost-moths. They have long, slender, half-serrate antennae, a small head, and the upper wings longer than the lower ones. The larvae feed on wood, the pupa is inclosed in a cocoon. C. ligniperda is the goat- moth, so called because its larvas emit a disagreeable smell, as the goat does. It is a large moth, the upper wings gray mottled with white, and having more- over black bands; the lower ones brovtm- ish ash; the body brownish gray, with silvery lines. The ground color of the larva is yellow. It takes three years to come to maturity. COSTA RICA, a republic of Central America; bounded on the N. by Nicara- gua; E. by. the Caribbean Sea; S. by Panama; W. by the Pacific Ocean; area, 32,000 square miles; pop. (official estimate, 1918) 459,423; capital, San Jose, 38,000. Topography. — The interior of the country is very mountainous, the ranges reaching an altitude of 11,000 feet, and having many volcanoes. The highest point is Pico Blanco, 11,800 feet. There are many small rivers, the drainage usually being N. E. or S. W., and the fall great. The principal rivers are the Tempisque, Colorado, and Rio Grande. The coast is very irregular, being in- dented by many large gulfs and bays, of which the Gulfs of Nicoya and Dulce are the most important. The Nicaragua Lake forms nearly half the N. boundary. The E. coast is a gradual slope and is heavily wooded, while the W. is covered with immense savannahs. Climate and Productions. — The cli- mate in the interior is temperate, and that on the coasts averages about 80° up to an altitude of 3,000 feet. The rainy season on the W. slope lasts from April to November. The soil is exceed- ingly fertile, and the forests are exten- sive, yielding mahogany, cedar, rose- wood, lignum-vitae, granadilla, ebony. Brazil-wood, and caoutchouc. Nearly all tropical fruits abound, including coffee, cocoa, banana, sugar, sarsaparilla, and vanilla. Other important productions are tobacco, rice, barley, dye woods, and cotton. The mineral resources are quite extensive, but as yet they have not been systematically worked. Gold is the prin- cipal metal mined, and is found both in rock and in placers. Silver, lead, and copper also exist in large quantities. Cattle raising is carried on to a large extent. Commerce. — The principal exports in 1919 were coffee, 30,784,184 bags; ba- nanas, 7,129,655 bunches (1918). Hard woods, hides, and skins are also ex- ported considerably. There are about 3,300 factories. The imports consisted of merchandise, flour, machinery, oil, cotton, iron, woolens, and worsteds. Comm,unications. — There are about 435 miles of railway, including branches and sidings. The Port of Limon is visited by steamers of British, Ameri- can, and Italian steamship companies. The Pacific port of Punta Arenas is also visited by steamers of three lines. Li- mon and Panama are connected by wire- less telegraph, as are Bluefields in Ni- caragua and Colon in Panama. There were in 1919 about 2,300 miles of tele- phone in the country. Finance. — The revenue in 1919 was about $4,600,000, and the expenditure slightly less. The chief sources of rev- enue are customs, liquors, railways, postage, and telegraphs. The chief items of expenditure are administration, public instruction and internal develop- ment. Government. — The government is purely republican in form. The presi- dent and vice-president, since 1918, are elected by an electoral college of sena- tors and deputies for a term of four years. The president is assisted by a cabinet of six secretaries, appointed by him. The legislative power is vested in a Chamber of Representatives, termed Constitutional Congress on a basis of one representative to every 8,000 inhabit- ants, chosen in electoral assemblies, the members of which since the Law of August, 1913, are elected by the suffrage of all who are able to support them- selves. The members of the chamber are elected for four years, one half re- tiring every two years. Religion and Education. — The Roman Catholic is the state religion, but there is entire religious liberty under the con- stitution. In 1918 there were 315 ele- mentary schools, a lyceum for boys, a college for girls, a normal school and colleges for medicine, law, and dentistry. Public instruction in all branches is rigidly enforced. History. — Costa Rica was discovered
