Marcu 7, 1907 | 
WAT ORE 
44 
States, Karenni, the Kachin Hills, and the Chin 
Hills are all administered by special officers under 
regulations which are suited to the primitive con- 
dition of the people. 
The subject of education is also dealt with in this | 
part. It is remarked that there is no province in 
India which can compare with Burma in the number 
oi the population able to read and write. The fact 
that primary education is so widely diffused is due to 
the indigenous schools. Every monastery is a school, 
and there is a monastery in almost every village. 
Education is free, and there are no caste restrictions 
in Burma. There every Buddhist boy learns at least 
to read and write. 
Part ii. concludes with a history of Burma from the 
earliest times. The history is as complete as it is 
possible to make it in 38 pages. An authentic photo- 
graph of the ex-King Thibaw and the ex-Queen 
Supava-Lat, who are now detained at Ratnagiri, an 
old Portuguese fort on the west coast of India, is 
given at p. 200 of the handbook. 
‘ 
Fic. 2.—Wa Suspension Bridge. 
industries, the forests of 
Burma, mines, agriculture, trade, transports, cur- 
rency, weights and measures. All these subjects are 
dealt with exhaustively, and this part will well repay 
perusal. 
The subjects discussed in part iv. are archeology, 
architecture, art, and music. Burma is called the 
land of pagodas, and Sir George Scott points out 
that there are three distinct types of religious build- 
ings—the solid pagoda enshrining relics, the carved 
and ornamented wooden monasteries, and _ the 
masonry temples. The most celebrated temples are in 
the ruined town of Pagan. 
ruins because, except where the founders have 
endowed them, and thus assured their preservation, it 
is to nobody’s interest to preserve a pagoda. The 
merit of erecting a pagoda is great, but the merit 
attaches to the original builder, and not to the re- 
storer or repairer. 
Part iii. deals wth 
From ‘‘ Purma: a Handbook of Practical Information.” 
Many pagodas are in | 
some of the most notable pagodas, and for others 
there are trustees, who administer the endowments 
and collect the offerings of the faithful, and spend 
the proceeds on the repair of the buildings, but 
ruined and deserted temples are to be seen all over 
the country. 
Part v. is taken up with an account of the Buddhist 
religion which very complete. As Sir George 
Scott states, there is no doubt that the original re- 
ligion of Burma was animism, and that this form of 
religion still survives amongst the vast body ot the 
people. Buddhism, as many consider, is not a re- 
ligion at all, but a system of philosophy. What most 
Burmans really reverence are the spirits of the air, 
the mountain and the fell. Many of the hill tribes 
are spirit worshippers pure and simple. Serpent wor- 
ship, too, still survives. 
Part vi. is devoted to language and literature. We 
are sorry that space does not permit us to give any 
extracts from this part. i : 
Part vii. concludes the handbook with some useful 
hints to residents or 
new visitors, and 
the last paragraphs 
of this part tell the 
readers something 
about sport. 
There are also 
three appendices. 
The illustrations are 
numerous and good. 
We reproduce as a 
sample the photo- 
graph of a Wa sus- 
pension bridge. 
is 
In conclusion, we 
strongly recommend 
every intending 
visitor to Burma to 
provide himself with 
a copy of this hand- 
book, in the com- 
pilation of which Sir 
George Scott has 
shown that he has a 
thorough knowledge 
of the country, to 
which he has added 
much industry and 
research. 
We think that the 
handbook, besides 
being indispensable 
to the tourist, is also 
well worth perusal 
by members of the non-travelling public who are 
anxious to know all that can be told about one of the 
most recent, and at the same time most interesting, 
possessions of the British Crown. 
PROF. MARCEL BERTRAND. 
T was with deep regret that English geologists 
learned that Prof. Marcel Bertrand, professor of 
geology at the French National School of Mines, 
died on Wednesday, February 13. Born in Paris on 
July 2, 1847, a member of a family of great mathe- 
maticians, he inherited a natural gift for the exact 
sciences, and especially for geometry, which enabled 
him to enter into I’Ecole Polytechnique in 1867. In 
1869, owing to his brilliance as a student, he was 
selected by the French Government as mining 
engineer. For three years he attended the courses 
The Government provides for the maintenance of | of Elie de Beaumont and others at the School of 
NO. 1949, VOL. 75] 
