BEST SEASONS FOR SPORT UPPER BURMA 273 



May, June, and up to the middle of July, when the rainy 

 season begins in earnest. During March and April most of 

 the dense undergrowth, dry leaves, twigs, branches, etc. have 

 been burnt. Rain begins to fall in most districts of Upper 

 Burma about the middle or end of May, and stalking is not 

 then such hard work. Should the sportsman, however, not 

 be able to stand the heat and rain with its accompanying 

 discomforts, which is really, taking it all round, not so great 

 as in Lower Burma, I would recommend his starting for the 

 jungles about the middle or end of November, when delight- 

 fully cool and dry weather may be experienced till the end of 

 January or even February. I have often shot during the 

 rainy season in the Ruby Mines district, and have not been 

 troubled in the least by leeches, mosquitoes, or sand-flies. On 

 the other hand, the shooting, which will in all likelihood have 

 to be done on foot, no elephants being available, will be 

 much harder work then than in the hot and rainy season. 

 During the commencement of the rains the ground would be 

 soft and denuded of all superfluous undergrowth, allowing of 

 easy stalking and tracking, whereas in the former case the 

 hard ground would not only make it up-hill work for your 

 trackers, but stalking would be well-nigh impracticable, owing 

 to the dry leaves, twigs, undergrowth, dense jungle, and 

 " kaing " or high elephant grass, which has sprung up during 

 the rains, and which, to a sportsman unaccustomed to it, 

 would appear to be at times well-nigh impenetrable. The 

 healthiest time of the year to camp out in the jungles I have, 

 from my own experience, always found to be between the first 

 of April and beginning of July. All malaria and fever-giving 

 germs have by that time been destroyed by the fires which 

 occur all over the country. After the first few showers of 

 rain in May the young grass sprouts up rapidly all over those 

 parts where jungle fires have occurred. 



It is then, in the early dawn or at sunset, that game may be 

 seen in herds or in twos or threes browsing on the tender 

 shoots. Gaur, wild cattle, rusa deer, brow-antlered deer, etc. 

 will then invariably be found feeding out in these open patches, 

 and they may often easily be picked out a long way off with 

 the assistance of a good pair of binoculars. From about the 



