21 



Here the manufacture of cutch seems to occupy a good many people, whose large camps line 

 the banks of the river. 



23rd March, 1871. The road was in the bed of the Myoung naweng ohoung, which 

 seems for a distance to flow over soft siliceous sandstone. Strobilanthes Birmanica is a com- 

 mon weed here, while Opilia amcntacca is a climber nearly quite as common. In crossing 

 the ridges, mixed forests with teak and dry forests with sha were met with. We encamped 

 Boon, after passing the Kyen village Kyouk pya gu, in the bed of the Myoung naweng. 



2ith March, 1871. We had to cross over the low rounded ridges which form the water- 

 shed between the Myoung naweng and the Paday chouug. Water is scarce here, and the 

 ground is chiefly composed of calcareous sandstone, harbouring mixed dry and sha-forests. 

 A large tree of Zollmgeria macrocarpa (wekho) was met with first, then followed tapa 

 {Harrisonia Bennetii) sha {Acacia Catechu), na pu noe {Combretum apetalum), yung {Ano- 

 geissus acuminatus), nahhe {Odina wodier),tea.k, thein (Nauctea parvi/olia), Vitex canescens, 

 toukkyan {Termitialia crenata), hinga. {Stephegyne rotundifolia), danoung {Acacia leucophloea.), 

 Kusan {Hymenodictyon thyrdflorum), chloaho {Kydia calyciwi), a Randia, etc. But what struck 

 me most were 1 or 2 trees of myouk shaw {Homalium tomenlosum), a tree which is very rai-e in 

 Prome, at least on calcareous strata. Myin wa is the usual bamboo. Most of the forests were 

 wretched looking, and much mutilated by toungya cultivation. Encamped at Thayet san, 

 a Kyen village on a feeder of the Paday choung, where a few trees of Cassia renigera gave 

 me the only shade I could obtain. Although tlie temperature was only 101 in the most 

 shady locality I could find, it was intolerably hot in my tent (UOJ). 



25(h March, 1871. The season being too far advanced, I coald not carry out my origi- 

 nal plan, viz. to march on to Thayet myo, and from thence to make a section across to the 

 Sittang. The elephants suffered seriously from want of food and were reduced to skeletons. 

 Under such circumstances I thought it hazardous to prolong my stay in this dry and barren 

 district, the more so as Nemesis, in the garb of jungle fires, seemed to watch my movements 

 with the eyes of an Argus. We thus turned eastwards to cross the Yomah at the head- 

 waters of the Paday chouug. 



We marched over much broken ground and through forests similar to those we met with 

 yesterday, viz. Sha forests, much denuded with such admixtures as tantap [Albizzia lucida), 

 tamaka {Melia Azadirachta), Ehretia Icevis, Hcterophragina sulfurea, toung Kathit {Erythrina 

 8iiberosa,)Kyu.n nalien [Preinna tomentosa), Lekop {Holarrhena piibescens), baup {Biiteafron- 

 dosa) tadi, {Bursera serrafa), Morinda tomentosa, Zizyphus Jujuba, etc., etc. A few trees of 

 padouk {Pterocarpus macrocarpus) were also observed. Around Kouoh toung (Khon-hnit- 

 louug of map) engyin became the prevailing tree which passed into true Eng forests before 

 reaching Kyon lay beng. Byu gon, a village, pallisaded like all Kyen villages in these parts 

 are, stands upon a brick red soil (no doubt ferruginous derived from decomposition of calca- 

 reous sandstone), but the same soil appears all over these low ranges in larger or smaller 

 patches usually covered with Eng forests. From here we went north-eastwards over gravelly 

 soil, and soon descended into the alluvium of the Paday chouug and encamped under a scan- 

 ty shade of tamarind in the village of Nah-moung. 



26th March, 187 \ . Crossed over the low ridges which separate the Tean lay (Eng-lay 

 of map) choung from the Paday. The forests were mixed, dry and sha. Cassia fistula 

 (gnu gyi), palan, laizab, lepan, thit Tpo, Diospyros cordi/olius, Konng Kwa fCtipparis gran- 

 disj, Hymonopyramis, Harrisoia, Combretum apetalum, etc. were frequent. At Myae ni gon 

 the curious red soil from which the village derives its name, is again covered with Eiig 

 forests. The sha-forests commence at Nyay gna thah choung and continue until the allu- 

 vium of the Tean lay choung is reached. Encamped at Tean lay. The trees rouud this 

 village were chiefly Vilex canescens and limoni folia, thin win [Millettia leucantha), Millcttia 

 tetraptera, tabou (Acacia leucophloea) , Gardenia erythroclada and G. turgida, Millettia ovali- 

 folia, Dalbergia paniculata , plenty tantap {Albizzia lucida), yuug, Ficus Rumphii, etc. 



21lh March, 1871. To-day we had to proceed along the watershed between the Tean 

 lay and Paday choungs. The terrain was the same as that met with during the last few days. 

 Myinwa was here, as every where else in this district, the only bamboo on the hills, while 

 teiwa was restricted to the choungs. Encamped at Pyoung tliay, a small Kyen village des- 

 titute of shade and water; the inhabitants have to fetch their drinking water from a place 

 a mile distant. 



28th March, 1871. We wandered through country similar to that of yesterday. At 

 Kadang tougsay a contorted bed of permeable siliceous sandstone crops out, which first 

 attracted my attention by the sudden change in the tree vegetation, for there appeared thit 

 pagan {Millettia Brandisiana), myouk shaw {Homalium tomentosum), besides fine grown first 

 class teak-trees. Some of the latter were standing dead and were said to have beeu gird led 

 under the Burmese rule. To our left the high ridges of the watershed of the Kyoung Kouug 

 gyi (?) towered above us covered evidently by the same mixed dry forests with plenty of 

 engyin in it. In descending towards the Paday choung we passed what in the rains must 

 be a fine watertal]. Touugyas alternated now with dry forests, until we fell ju with the 



