I 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 689 



districts where booms have been made and a large amount of labour 

 exacted from the villagers are now the same as they are here ; that is, such 

 labour would in this district (though not perhaps in others) have been 

 useless so far as the future is concerned, while I do not think it likely that 

 it would have assisted navigation in anyway at the time it was undertaken. 

 What seems most needed now is to ascertain («) the habits of the plant, 

 and (b) the successful measures, if any, taken for its suppression in other 

 countries. 



As to (a) I have been able so far to get no information locally. I have 

 asked the Director of Agriculture whether he can help me. It has been 

 the practice in some parts to take the weed up on shore, but there is at 

 present nothing to show that this will prevent its propagating itself in the 

 river at the beginning of next rains, and it may even do harm. 



As to (b) I have received information from various sources that large 

 sums have been spent in combating the weed in North Australia, America, 

 and other countries ; and as to this also I have asked the Director of 

 Agriculture whether he can obtain any information for me. Until such 

 information is obtained, or the success of the experiment already under- 

 taken in the delta established, it seems highly undesirable that any money 

 should be spent in combating the weed or that villagers should be forced to 

 undertake labour which may be useless. 



The Deputy Commissioner, Bassein, in September 1913 enquired from the 

 Director of Agriculture, Burma, as to the habits of the Beda weed (said to 

 be called the "Nile Lily"), which is now blocking the waterways of the 

 delta. I have made some enquiries regarding the seeds and the manner 

 in which it is propagated, but have so far failed to elicit anything of value. 

 In some parts of the delta it has been the practice to induce the villagers 

 to drag it up on to the bank. It seems quite possible that this work may 

 be useless and may even aggravate the evil. 



I am informed that large sums have been spent in combating the weed 

 in North Australia, America, and other countries. If this is the case, it is 

 highly probable either that some effective way of keeping down the weed 

 has been discovered which could be used in Burma, or that all measures 

 tried have proved to be useless. Information as to the methods used would 

 be very valuable ; in the latter, it would probably be useless to go on 

 spending money for the labour of villagers in attempting to suppress the 

 nuisance. In this district all attempts to suppress it have been abandoned 

 for some months, and the waterways are now clear, the weed having been 

 carried away by the current. 



The weed is not mentioned in the Dictionary of Economic Products, which 

 includes a number of pests. 



Mr. A. M. Sawyer, Assistant Botanist, forwarded the following note on 

 this weed : — 



" This is the Eichhornia speciosa, Solms, the most persistent and trouble- 

 some of tropical weeds. It propagates itself by means of seeds and suckers 

 both of which are light and driven by the wind. It is already a terrible 

 curse in Florida, Java and Australia. In Ceylon a special law — the " Water 

 Hyacinth Ordinance" — was passed in 1909 against its importation and culti- 

 vation. Last year, at the request of the Executive Engineer, Pegu, I was 

 deputed to inspect the Pegu Canal and the In near the village of Thanat- 

 pin which were then full of the weed. The conclusion arrived at by us was 

 that the most efficient, though expensive, method of dealing with it would 

 be to cut it into sections and drag these out by suitable steam-tugs into the 

 strong current of the river or even into the sea itself as is now regularly 

 done with the " Sud" in Egypt, Florida and elsewhere. As the plant 

 flourishes chiefly in stagnant fresh-ivater, this method is the only one con- 



