84 



FROM HOOKHOOM TO A VA. 



Temperature at 5 J a.m. 61. Water boils at 210. 



March 3\st. — Continued our march down the Mogaung river, 

 passing through a most uninteresting, inhospitable- looking tract. 

 General direction S. E., distance fourteen miles. The river is not 

 much enlarged : it is still shallow, and much spread out, and im- 

 peded by fallen trees and stumps ; it is navigable for small boats 

 up to the Mywoon's granary. Noticed ^Esculus in flower. Of birds, 

 saw the grey and black-bellied Tern. 



The Botanical novelties are an arborescent Salix, a ditto Cordia* 

 floribus suave odoratis, Phyllanthus Embelica. 



Saw some cultivation on low hills to the S. E. and E. inhabited 

 by Kukheens. 1st April. Temperature 63. Water 210J altitude. 



April 1st. — Started at 5£. Leaving almost directly the Mogaung 

 river we traversed extensive open plains, halting for breakfast on the 

 Wampama Kioung. This we crossed, continuing through open 

 plains until we came to patches of jungle consisting of trees, and 

 quite dry. We subsequently traversed more open plains until we 

 reached the Mogaung river, on the opposite (right) bank of which 

 Camein is situated. These plains were in many places quite free 

 from trees ; they are, except towards the south, quite surrounded 

 with low hills, the highest of which are to the E., and among these, 

 Shewe Down Gyee, from which the Nam Tenai rises, is pre-eminent, 

 looking as if it were 3000 feet high, and upwards. The hills although 

 generally wooded are in many places quite naked ; and as the natives 

 say, this, is not owing to previous cultivations, I suppose that they 

 are spots naturally occupied entirely by Graminese. The plains slope 

 towards the hills on either side. They are covered with Graminese ; 

 among which Imperata, occasionally Podomolee and Saccharum, 

 Anthistiria arundinacea, a tall Rottboelia, and Andropogon occur ; 

 and in the more open spaces a curious Rottboellioidea, glumis ciliatis, 

 is common. In addition a Polygala, a Crucifera with bracteae and 

 white flowers, an Acanthacea, Prenanthes ? Centranthera tetrastachys 

 are met with. The trees are quite different from those of Hook- 

 hoom ; the principal one is a Nauclea; Bombax, Wendlandise sp., a 

 Rhamnea, Phyllanthus, and Bignonia cordifolia occur; the Nauclea 

 giving a character to the scenery. The Botany of the patches of 

 jungle is varied. Strychnos Nux- vomica is common ; Congea tomen- 

 tosa, Engelhardtia, etc. Bauhinia arborea, and Costus also occur. 



Teak occurred to-day for the first time, but not in abundance, 

 neither were the specimens fine : it was past flowering, it occurred 



