re 



EASTERN GEOGRAPHY. 



them to the Nawun branch. But these works hare unfortunately 

 had tbo effect of raising the bed of tin: riiw, and thus increasing ilie 

 extent of the inundations, which in 1ST7 converted into a temporary 

 lake a tract of some 500 square miles on the east Hide of the Nawun, 



Arts and Industries*— Burmese culture, as represented by the 

 local arte and industries, ba^ always been far inferior to that of India 

 and China. Tim artistic sense has fuund its chief expression in the 

 practice of tattooing,, which has been developed to an extraordinary 

 extent, displaying considerable taste in the combinations of colony 

 and in the execution of intricate dcH^n-< covering a large part i.f the 

 body. But little progress hoa been made in the u&efnl arts, which 

 are restricted chiefly to cotton and silk weaving pottery, metal work, 

 and jewellery. The cotton fabrics, woven by the women on Iooiun 

 of a primitive typo, are much inferior to thoao of India ; and the 

 filks, the raw materia] for which comes BNHDB China and the Lao 

 country T sire of a coarse texture, although certainly strong and 

 durable., Everybody except the lowest classes wear* silk, the finer 

 qualities of which are imported from China. The earthenware often 

 combines elegant form- with ^hnI quality, and the workers in metal 

 produeo rude cutlery, arms, and various implements and domestic 

 u tonsil- in iron, tin T and copper. Guld and silver nrnamantl are 

 much wjjrn in all the large town*, but are more remarkable for rich- 

 ness and wdidity than for delicacy of design and execution. A large 

 government gun foundry, fitted with all modem appliances, was 

 founded some years agn in the neighbourhood of Handalay, but doea 

 nr.il appear I o have flourished under its Freiudi inuim^'P, In tV-^u mlch, 

 used for dyeing purposes, is manufactured for export, and here there 

 are numerous steam mil Is for paving timber and cleansing rice aho 

 for export. Bout-building employs jnimermi> bund* nh-ng the river 

 hanks, anil in some districts Halt and {fnajti, a preparation of iish + are 

 produced in considerable ijuantilte^. A good deal of paper i* manu- 

 factured fnun the fibre of young bamboo*, and the towns of Silky 

 and Nyiin^-n b.di-w I'ag.-in are i in [i-nlnnl centre* ..1' tlie lacquer 

 industry. Tlte Burmese lacquer-ware in some respects rivals tlmt of 

 Japan,, ami with improved method* of prodiieLiun wnitld command a 

 ready sale in the European markets* 



Trade. — Hitherto raort of the inland trade hos been carried on 

 with China chiefly through BfcamA cm the Upper Trawaddy, Chinese 

 caravan*, in which the cam .1 is, replaced by the horwj, mule, and ox, 

 convey large quantities of raw silk and fine silken stuffs from Yunnan 

 to this cmpjrinm, taking in exchange Burmese cottony beside* some 

 Indian and British ware*. The nearest Chinese station lies wuntf 



