The most common fruits in Burmah are the mango, the orange, the citron, the pine, the custard apple, the jack, the papaya, and the plantain. The yam and the sweet potato are grown, but not extensively; the common potato is unknown. Onions are produced; and capsicum, which, after salt, is the most ordinary condiment used by the Burmese, is cultivated everywhere.
Forests.
The forests of Burmah abound in fine trees. Among these the teak holds a conspicuous place; some of the finest teak forests were lost to the Burmese, however, with Pegu. Almost every description of timber known in India is produced in the Burmese forests, from which also an abundant supply is obtained of the varnish employed by the Shans and the Burmese in their manufacture of lacquered ware. Sticklac of an excellent quality is obtained in the woods.[1]
Minerals.
Burmah is rich in minerals, and produces gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, antimony, bismuth, amber, coal, petroleum, nitre, natron, salt, limestone, and marble, the jade or yu of the Chinese, sapphires, and other precious stones. Gold is found in the sands of different rivers, and also towards the Shan territory on the eastern frontier; but the demand is very much greater than the native supply. Silver is got also near the Chinese frontier. The mountainous districts of the Shan territory contain almost all the other metals; but they are not worked, and the copper and tin, which are seen in the capital, are imported from China. Iron is found in several places, and is wrought especially at Poukpa, near a mountain of that name to the eastward of the old capital Pagán, and also at Maedoo, north-west of the capital; but, owing to ignorance and the want of proper methods, about 30 or 40 per cent. of the metal is lost in the process. Large deposits of rich magnetic oxide, as yet untouched, exist in the ridges east of the capital near the banks of the navigable river Myit-Ngé, and the same district contains lime in great abundance and of remarkable whiteness; while statuary marble, equal to the best Italian specimens, is found about 15 miles north of the capital and east of the Irawadi. Mines of amber are wrought, among other places, at Hookhong or Payendwen, near the sources of the Kyen-dwen, and their produce must be abundant if one may judge from the price of the article at the capital. Nitre, natron, and salt are found in various quarters. Sulphur also occurs in some places, as in the district of Silleh-Myo and in the neighbourhood of the petroleum wells; but the quantity is comparatively small, and a supply has to be obtained from China. Coal has been discovered in patches, but not in any quantity worth working. Petroleum, which is used by all ranks among the Burmese for burning in lamps, and also for smearing wood as a preservative against insects, is found near the village of Ye-nang-gyoung, on the banks of the Irawadi. Here are upwards of one hundred pits or wells, with a general depth of from 210 to 240 feet; though some of them are deeper, and reach to the depth of 300 feet. The shaft is of a square form, from 3 to 4 feet across, and lined with horizontal balks. The liquid appears to boil up from the bottom like an abundant spring, and is extracted in buckets, and sent to all quarters of the country. The annual yield is calculated at 11,690 tons. A good deal is now imported into England.[2]
The precious stones which are produced in the Burmese territories are chiefly the sapphire and the ruby. They are found about 60 or 70 miles in a north-east direction from the capital, over an area of about 100 square miles, by sinking pits in the gem beds. The varieties of the sapphire found there are the blue or oriental sapphire, the red or oriental ruby, the purple or oriental amethyst, the yellow or oriental topaz, besides different varieties of chrysoberyl and spinelle. The Crown lays claim to the produce of these rivers; and all the stones that exceed the value of £10 are sent to the treasury.[3] No stranger is ever permitted to approach the spots where these precious stones are found. The yu or jade mines are situated in the Mogoung district, about 25 miles south-west of Meinkhoom. During certain seasons no fewer than 1000 men—Shans, Chinese, Panthays, and Kakhyens—are engaged in the excavation of the stone, which is found in the form of rounded boulders, sometimes of considerable size. Each digger pays so much a month for the right of search, and all he finds becomes his own.[4] Momien, in Yunnan, was formerly the chief seat of the manufacture of the jade, and still produces a considerable quantity of small articles.
Animals.
The country of the Burmese, abounding in forests, affords extensive shelter to wild animals. The elephant and the rhinoceros—both the one-horned (R. indicus) and the two-horned (R. sumatranus)—are found in the deep forests of the country. The tiger and the leopard are numerous, as well as the wild hog, and several species of deer, such as the Indian roe, the axis, and the barking deer (Cervus muntjac). In the Irawadi is found, as far up as Bhamo, a peculiar kind of dolphin. The rivers and lakes abound with fish, from which the inhabitants prepare their favourite condiment of ngapee. A detailed description of several of the species will be found in Day's contributions to the Proceedings of the Zoological Society, 1869, 1870. Of birds, the jungle-fowl is common, and is seen in coveys in all the forests of the country; while domestic breeds, often of very large size, are kept in great numbers, not only for the sake of the eggs or the flesh, but also to afford amusement of a barbarous kind. Aquatic birds of various kinds are very numerous, such as geese, darters (Flotus melanogaster), scissor-bills (Rhyncops nigra), adjutants (Leptoptilos argala), pelicans, cormorants, cranes (Grus antigone, in Burmese gyoja), whimbrels, plovers, and ibises. There are also peacocks, and varieties of pheasants, partridges, and quails.[5]
The domestic animals are the ox, the buffalo, and the horse. Oxen are used for draught in the upper country, and buffaloes in the southern parts. They are of a good description, and, ranging in the luxuriant pastures of the plains, they commonly appear in high order. The buffalo is confined to agricultural labour, and the ox alone is used as a beast of burden or of draught. The Burman horses, which are rarely more than thirteen hands high, are never used but for riding. Elephants are kept for the pleasure of the king, and the taming of those that are newly caught is one of the favourite spectacles of the people. A white elephant (apparently an albino), when found, is greatly prized, and is kept at court as a sacred appendage of royalty. The dog is neglected, and is seen prowling about the streets, a prey to famine and disease. Cats are numerous; and about the capital a few goats and sheep, of a puny race, are kept more for curiosity than for use. A few asses are also seen, which are brought from China. The camel is not known.
Inhabitants.
- ↑ An article on the Burman flora, by S. Kurtz, will be found in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal for 1874.
- ↑ See Appendix to Yule's Narrative.
- ↑ Journal As. Soc. of Bengal, 1833.
- ↑ The specimens that are most highly prized are of an emerald green; but red and pale pink are also favourite colours.
- ↑ An important addition to the natural history of the country has just been made by the representatives of the late Mr E. Blyth in the shape of a “Catalogue of the Mammals and Birds of Burmah,” published as an extra number of the Journal of the As. Soc. of Bengal, 1875.
