CIS BURMA, ITS PEOPLE AXD PRODLX'TIOXS. 



E. ixsiGXE, Wall. Ava. Pegu llangc. Andamans. 



Leaflets decurrent on the short 2 to 3 linos long petiulule. Staminal bundles 

 consisting- of 60 or more long filiform filaments. 



Kurz ap]ilics the terms Let-pan and Di-du to one tree. The Burmese, if I mistalce 

 not, regard thim as male and female. The ' cotton trees ' arc noble trees, with grandly 

 buttressed stems, but the wood is soft and worthless. When a man dies, one of these 

 trees, if handy, is felled, a log is cut out of the leugth, which is speedily converted 

 into a solid coifin, the softness of the wood lending itself to that end. The fleshy 

 calicos of the flowers are cooked and eaten, and the silky down of the seed-capsules is 

 collected to stuff pillows with. As the fibre is smooth, it will not felt or even twist 

 into yarn like cotton ; so that its utility is limited to stuffing pillows. The trees 

 attain their largest size in river plains, where one of these giant trees, 80 to 100 feet 

 high, with its brightly-coloured flowers, enlivened by the presence and motions of 

 numerous birds, seeking for nectar and insects in the calices, forms a striking and 

 interesting object. 



Eriodesdeon, De Candolk. 



Calyx and ovary as in Bomhax. Staminal ImuUcs 5, inserted at base, each 

 bearing 2-3 linear anthers. 



E. (BoMBAx) pextanhbum, L. Earc (one tree only seen) in the coast forests 



£. anfractuosum, DC. of South Andaman. Here and there culti- 



vated in Pegu and Tenassorim. 



One of those trees that are stated to be very frequent in the Indian jungles, but 

 I myself have never succeeded in seeing it in a truly wild state, although the loftiness 

 of tlie tree and the decussate ternation of its branches would render it recognizable 

 from a long distance (Kui-z). 



* Leaves simple, pinninerved, heneafh more or less lepidote. Fruits murieate. 



Drmo, Linnaus. 



Calyx bell-shaped. Petals 5. Branehes of the staminal bundles bearing several 

 linear anthers with sinuous anther-cells. 



*D. ZriiETHixus, L. E.T. Wild iu Tenasserim, south of 1 1'' X.L. 



Du-yin. The Durian. 



" The Burmese specimens in Dr. Brandis' herbarium, although destitute of corolla, 

 do not differ from the Malayan durian, and the calyx is the same in size as well as iu 

 shape " (Kurz). 



The ' durian ' is perhaps more passionately esteemed by those who are in the 

 habit of consuming it than any fruit in the world. "\Mien the hard prickly coat 

 begins to gape at the seams, the fruit is in perfection, and the nuts witliin are 

 seen enveloped in a rich mellow paste, somewhat comparable to a mixture of equal 

 parts of almond paste, clotted cream, and mashed garlic, the odour being rapiilly 

 intensified as the fruit ripens more and more. The nuts are also edible when roasted 

 like chestnuts. The specific name zibetltiniis is said to liave been given it from the 

 fondness of the civet-cat for it, or perhaps fi'om the abominable odour of the over- 

 ripe fruit. An unex]ilained circumstance regarding the ' Durian ' is that this name 

 occurs among the fruits mentioned as found at Delhi by either Purchas or one of the 

 early Englisli travellers. What is this ' Durian ' ? Was it a mistake of the traveller, 

 or was the name in Jehangir's time applied to some ludian fruit ? It is absurd to 

 suppose the Durian was ever introduced or fruited in Northern India. 



" Heifer writes in his second report on the resources of Tenasserim : ' This tree 

 does not grow so far north as Maulmain, some few trees excepted, which arc grown 

 as a rarity on the island of Beloo. It sphere begins at Tavoy ; large plantations 

 occur to the E. of Mount Burney, and very fine specimens in the valley of Tauubiaun. 

 Lower down on the Tenasserim, the trees begin to grow almost spontaneously, and in 

 hit. If it forms large forests.' 



