many other products are cultivated in fields, gardens, and taungya. Wheat has long been cultivated in Upper Burma, but not so far back as the 9th century. San Germano remarks that "the wheat of the Kingdom of Ava is most excellent[1]." Crawfurd "found that wheat was cultivated in the vicinity of Ava in considerable quantity....We compared the grain with the Patna wheat which we had along with us, and it was greatly superior both in size and colour[2]." Wheat is grown also in the Shan States with success. It is perhaps surprising that a form of cultivation so long established has not been more largely practised. Other cereals, maize, gram, and millet, red and white, are grown in dry districts. Millet suffers much from the ravages of a small parasite plant called pwinbyu. Many varieties of peas and beans are produced in all parts of the province. The dani palm is cultivated in the Irrawaddy Delta.
Sesamum, grown on about 1,000,000 acres is a very valuable crop. About 300,000 acres, principally in Pakôkku, Magwe, and Myingyan, are devoted to ground-nuts of which the out-turn reaches some 100,000 tons. The extension of this cultivation is comparatively recent.
Tea is the staple product of the Shan State of Tawnpeng where it is grown to the annual value of about £200,000, for the purpose of being made into letpet, pickled tea, a condiment of universal consumption. Many Europeans profess to find the durian delicious and even ngapi has its admirers. It is not on record that any one other than a native of Burma has found letpet palatable. In Burmese times, letpet was brought down by strings of bullocks to the mart at Mandalay. The railway has now superseded this primitive mode of transport. Tea for the European market is not yet produced. Coffee has been grown by Europeans at Toungoo and Bhamo but with only moderate success. Its cultivation in the Northern Shan sub-State of Hsumhsai is very promising.
