cxcv 



niniisooii, tin's livov comnioiicos io risCj owing fo \(s Aljiiiic oiig-in, an<l 

 line to the melting' of the snow in the mountains, from which it takes its 

 source. ThuSj alMiongli tlic yearly rain-fall in Rangoon is piobably about 

 110 inches or more, the amount decreases as the !iorth is a])|)roaclied — at 

 Meanoung' being above 50, at I'rome below 50, at Thyetmyo, our frontier 

 sbilion, only 20, whilst at Pachan, in Upper Burma, 1 was informed 

 that it was only about 2 inches. Thus, the so>ith-west monBoou does 

 not fdl this river in Ujipor Burma, which would 1)C a serious drawback 

 f o fish-breeding, especially for the shad which ascend from the sea for 

 (his purpose; but fortunately this period is concomitant with that of the 

 isrc.atcst heat at its snowy source, which keeps the river in full flood 

 above where the south-west monsoon reaches, and thus renders it suit- 

 able for the ascent and spawning of marine and other fishes in its 

 liiglicr reaches. The Sittoung or Poungloung lliver rises in the hills 25 

 miles north of Ycmctheu and alx)ut 130 from Tounghoo. It mostly 

 Hows in a southerly direction through the middle of the district, but its 

 tortuous course has been not inaptly compared to the writhings of a 

 wounded snake; it frequently deviates to almost ever3^ point of the com- 

 pa.ss within a distance of a few miles. The Salwcen arises somewhere in the 

 Province of Yunam in China ; receiving manj^aniuents as it passes through 

 the Shall States, it passes in a southerly direction towards Moulmein ; it 

 is divided from the last-named river by a range of hills, and receives near 

 its termination the Gynne, from a north-easterly or easterly direction. 

 This river is connected by creeks with the Sittoung, and that again with 

 the Pegu River, which is an aflliient of the Irrawaddi through its Hieing 

 or Mainiakhat branch, which is given otf near Prome, and runs direct 

 through that district to the town of Rangoon and so on to the sea. Ifc 

 does not again join the m.ain stream directly, witii which, however, ifc 

 lia.s several connecting creeks and channels. 



3G5. The tanks or " ecngs" are principally due to the yearly innnda- 



_ , ,, „ tions of theso rivers, which increase the 



Imiks 01- " cciics. . - ,, ... „ . 



size of those existing, or form vast ex- 

 panses of water in large tracts of the country, and these, or small 

 water-courses and tanks or channels in paddy-fields, are great places for 

 fish to breed in, (see para. iC) — dhumh in Siiid). These watery tracts 

 are mainly of two sorts, those which are perennial, and those which yearly 

 dry up ; the latter, provided free ingress to, and egress from, them is per- 

 mitted to breeding and young fish, will scarcely rc([uire any measures 

 being adoj>ted for their care after all communication with the running 

 water is naturally cut off, as I shall subsequently allude to. More especially 

 in the Pegu District are many plains, which become vast sheets of water in 

 the rainy season, but which it is unnecessary to enumerate. At Rangoon 

 are the so-called Royal Lakes, originally a marsh, deepened and bunded 

 by a native governor some 40 years since. There are many marshes 

 useful for fishing stations during the rains. Certain lakes termed " Bayme" 

 are deemed to possess a sacred character, so are not fished ; also, as u 

 rule, all waters within the enclosure of a " Kyoung," or Buddist monastery. 

 306. The races of British Burma may be referred, according 

 „ ^ „ to the late Chief Commissioner, to four great 



families — the Talaing or Moii, tlie Jjurman, 

 the Karen, and the Shan or Tais. As Buddists they profess a horror 



