110 Proceedings of /he Asiatic Society. [April 



In the paper now laid before the meeting Sir A. Phayre traces 

 the history of these three Shan brothers, and their successors and con- 

 temporaries to the year 13G4, A. D., when Tha-do-meng-bya founded 

 the city of Ava. The history of the successors of this king is then 

 continued to the year 1555, when Bhureng Noung captured Ava, and 

 usurped the throne. 



The period, therefore, of the history of Burmah, as described in 

 this paper, extends from A. D. 1298 to 1555, a space of 257 years. 



The paper will shortly be published in the Society's Journal. 



Motes on the Famine-foods of Marwar ; by Assistant-Surgeon George 

 King, M. B., lately attached to the Marwar Political Agency, —com- 

 municated through Dr. C. 11. Francis. 



The substances resorted to by the very poor, as articles of food in 

 times of famine, are probably pretty much alike in most parts of Nor- 

 thern India. With those used in our own provinces we are, unfor- 

 tunately, but too familiar, yet as Marwar is a territory, of which most 

 Europeans know so little, I have ventured to throw together a few 

 notes on the substitutes for the ordinary cereals which are being used 

 there, during the present severe famine. The accompanying speci- 

 mens of the raw substances, and of the breads prepared from them, 

 were obtained by me in October last, in the districts of Joudhpore 

 and Pallee, from famishing wretches who were then subsisting largely 

 on them. 



The Marwarees, in common with the inhabitants of the neighbour- 

 ing states of Jeysulmere and Bikaneer, are familiar with famine, or 

 at least with scarcity. In all three states, the annual rainfall is ex- 

 tremely small. There are no accurate statistics on record, but that 

 of Marwar may be set down at about 3 or 4 inches, which (with the 

 exception of a very uncertain fall of about a quarter, or half inch, in the 

 cold weather) is confined to the latter end of July, August and 

 September. The rain-crops afford the staff of life, for owing to the 

 scarcity of water for irrigation, and its depth* in many cases from the 

 surface, the area of wheat cultivation is very limited, and pulses are 

 grown scarcely at all. Wide tracts of land are hurriedly ploughed 

 alter the first shower of the rainy season falls, and joar and bajra 

 * In Bikaneer, some of the wells are more than 800 feet deep ! 



