( 46 ) 



enced by Buddhists. The ficus group throughout seems to demand 

 homage and respect from all Buddhists and Hindoos, the one most 

 common to the country being that most idolized. 



84. After breakfast I took a ramble by myself in search of plants 

 Vegetation and Ornithology of and birds, but came on nothing new. 



Mengoon. Ciophytum sensitivum and Malpighia 



coccigera were every where to be seen amongst the brick rubbish ; 

 Triumfetta rhomboidea, and Melochia corcJiorifolia were common in 

 cultivated lands ; also Hiptage obtusifolia, Aspidopterys nutans, Elceo- 

 carpus varuna, Greivia microcos, Pterospermum, semisaittatum, Sterculia 

 colorata, Capparis flavicans, C. glauca, Cananga odorata, and a solitary 

 instance of Eriodendron penlandrum, evidently cultivated, for it was 

 in one of the orchards of which there are a good many in this 

 neighbourhood. The fruit trees cultivated are, for the most part, 

 plantains, pomegranates, oranges, papayas, and custard-apples ; I 

 also noticed Physallis peruviana — a native of Peru — which was 

 pointed out to me as a weed, but I have nowhere met with it in 

 Burma, excepting in the deserted haunts of man. The only birds 

 I noted were Corvus impudicus and C. culminaius, Palmornis affinis and 

 P. torquatus in numbers ; Ampelliceps coronatus, Carpophaga sylvatica, 

 and a large number of the Nectariniida family. Among the ruins I 

 observed some deserted martins' nests literally filled with long- 

 legged spiders (opilio), which, when disturbed, poured forth in 

 myriads, but I did not observe the martins feed on them. Every 

 roof and wall of the old buildings was covered with bats, whose 

 droppings are often converted into saltpetre, for the manufacture of 

 gunpowder, by the poorer classes. The red squirrels with white 

 tipped tails were very common in the orchards, and I amused myself 

 watching their raids on the fruit. Descending from their homes, 

 which were generally high forest trees, they ran across to the 

 orchard, took an observation, foraged, and returned with their 

 booty, repeating the operations of reconnoitering and plundering 

 again and again. 



85. Mengoon, it will be remembered, is celebrated for the 



pagoda commenced in 1771 by King 

 The great Pagoda, Mengoon. Mentaragyee, and destroyed by the 

 earthquake of 1839, when but little over one-third completed. 

 Captain Strover and myself took a few measurements, which were 

 found to agree accurately with those made by Yule in 1855. The 

 base was 450 feet square, and height 165 feet, which is 335 feet 

 less than it would have been when completed. There is actually 

 nothing very engaging in the design, though the massiveness of 

 the building cannot fail to attract attention, and create surprise at 

 the money, time, and labour that must have been wasted in the 



