Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/469

Rh sugar is obtained from the juice of the Palmyra palm, of which numerous groves are found, especially south of the capital. Indigo is so badly managed as to be almost unfit for exportation. Rice in the south and maize and millet in the north are the standard crops. Sesamum is raised for cattle. On the northern hills the tea plant is cultivated; but the natives, instead of steeping it, eat the leaf prepared with oil and garlic. Cotton is raised chiefly in the dry lands of the upper provinces; silk is produced in some districts. The principal trees are the teak and hopæa, which furnish valuable timber. In Amarapura are extensive forests of fir. On the upper Salwen is found the oil tree, one of which will produce 80 or 40 gallons of oil a year. Other trees are the cocoa palm, betel, palmyra nissa, bamboo, and mango, which attains the height of 100 ft., and bears a delicious fruit.—The forests abound in wild animals. They are the elephant, the one-horned rhinoceros, the tiger, leopard, wild and civet cats, wild hog, several species of deer, some of which are nearly as large as the ox, and the wild ox and buffalo, which are found in large herds. It is said that none of the ferocious members of the canine tribe are to be found in Burmah or in any countries of tropical Asia E. of Bengal. In the lower provinces elephants are very numerous, and often do great damage to the rice fields. Hares and various kinds of monkeys are found. Of birds, the wild cock is common; and there are also varieties of pheasants, partridges, and quails. Peacocks, parrots, and pigeons are very numerous in the forests of the lower provinces. Fish are plentiful in the Irrawaddy. There are many lizards and serpents. Leeches of large size are numerous. The domestic animals are the ox, the horse, and the buffalo. The elephant also is used as a draught animal. A few goats, sheep, and asses are found. Horses are used exclusively for riding, and are rarely more than 13 hands high. The ox is the beast of draught and burden in the north, the buffalo in the south.—Burmah has great natural mineral wealth, but it is little developed. There are gold mines at Bhamo, near the Chinese frontier, and auriferous sand is found in several of the rivers. Silver is obtained at Bortwen, on the confines of China, in some parts of the interior, and in the mountains bordering on Siam. The celebrated ruby mines of Burmah are 60 or 70 m. N. E. of the capital. Sapphires of large size are also found in the same place. The topaz, amethyst, and varieties of the chrysoberyl and spinelle are found in the beds of some rivulets. These are all perquisites of the crown. Iron ore is found at Poukpa, but owing to the ignorance of the workmen 30 or 40 per cent. is lost in the process of smelting. Copper, tin, lead, and antimony are known to exist in the eastern parts, but it is doubtful if any of these metals are obtained in considerable quantities. The mountains near the city of Ava furnish a superior

quality of limestone; fine statuary marble is found 40 m. from the capital, on the banks of the Irrawaddy; amber exists so plentifully that it sells in Ava at the low price of $1 per pound; and nitre, natron, salt, and coal are extensively diffused over the entire country, though the latter is little used. On the E. bank of the Irrawaddy, about lat. 20° 30′ N., are the famous petroleum wells, near a village called Renankhyaung. The wells, which are about 300 in number, occupy a space of about 16 sq. m. The country here is a series of sandy hills and ravines, sparingly dotted with stunted trees. The artificial pits are from 200 to 300 ft. deep, and the oil which bubbles up at the bottom is brought up in buckets. When taken out it is thin, but thickens after keeping and coagulates in cold weather. It has a pungent aromatic odor, and is used for lighting and for protection against insects. Turpentine is produced in various portions of the country, and is extensively exported to China.—In the valley of the Irrawaddy and adjacent hills there are four seasons distinctly marked: the cold, from November to February; the first rainy, from March to May; the hot, from June to August; and the second rainy, in September and October. The climate is generally healthy, especially in the hilly tracts. The extremes of heat and cold are seldom experienced except before the periodical rains. Heavy mists occur in November and December, but no snow falls, and only a little hail in April or the beginning of May. The transitions of the seasons are extremely sudden; the greatest heats are in March and April. Earthquakes are frequent, and often usher in and conclude the wet season. Insects are numerous, and a few weeks before the rainy season myriads of winged ants, field bugs, and other insects infest the dwellings. The Burmese, who highly relish these ants as food, lay up stores of them.—The Burmese have made but little advance in the useful arts. Women carry on the whole process of the cotton manufacture, using a rude loom, and displaying little ingenuity or skill. Porcelain is imported from China; British cottons are imported, and even in the interior undersell the native products; though the Burmese smelt iron, steel is brought from Bengal; silks and cottons are manufactured at Ava and Amarapura. While a very great variety of goods is imported, the exports are comparatively insignificant, those to China, with which the Burmese carry on their most extensive commerce, consisting of raw cotton, ornamental feathers, chiefly of the blue jay, edible swallows' nests, ivory, rhinoceros and deer's horns, and some precious stones. In return, the Burmese import wrought copper, orpiment, quicksilver, vermilion, iron pans, brass wire, tin, lead, alum, silver, gold and gold leaf, earthenware, paints, carpets, rhubarb, tea, honey, raw silk, velvets, Chinese spirits, musk, verdigris, dried fruits, paper, fans, umbrellas, shoes, and wearing apparel. 133—30