3U 



The fifth and oldest of all the districts of Bin- 

 tang is SooQgei Gissee, wljich contains the follow- 

 ing villages : 



Firi?t,— Gissee, which u situated upon the ri- 

 ver of the same name, and contains about forty- 

 houses, tM'd arrack disiilleries, and an opium and 

 gambhng farm. It is much rednced and fallen 

 from its former stale of prosperity, and its trade 

 is very inconsiderable when compared with what 

 it used to be. The Soongei Gissee takes its rise 

 very far inland. 



Second.^ — Sing-Ling, which is about half aa 

 hour's journey from Gis.see and lying upon the 

 same river, contains only ten houses, and is alto- 

 gether very iasignificant. The Soongei Gissee is 

 one of the largest and clearest rivers in the is- 

 land, and is navigable with sumpang fmokats, 

 and even prahus. 



The soil in the district of Gissee is* superior to 

 that of any of the preceding ones, pepper thriving 

 better here than in any other portion of the island, 

 and there being a few fruit trees scattered here 

 and there There are about one hundred pepper 

 and gamhier plantations in it, ami twelve him- 

 dred inhabitants. 



i will now pass on to the consideration of the 

 agriculture, trade, Sec. of the Residency of Rhio. 

 The preceding account will have prepared my 

 readers to expect that the agriculture is almost 

 exclusively confined to the production of gamhier 

 and pepper, the method of planting and preparing 

 the former for the market I now proceed to detail. 



• This pbrsse mmt always be iaktta v.iih rcfereijca tfl the mpte pro- 

 dnce. The adapted fyr fajnbior aiid pepper are the very wont 

 for other agricnlttirai pttrpoaca. Glue«, hofM:vtr, uppcars lo MMieti a 

 ▼irlety of safli, ' 



