222 
JOURNAL OF AN EMBASSY 
ployed in many parts of the country. The hog 
is domesticated among the Burmese, but being 
used only as a scavenger, and taken no care of, its 
habits are offensive and disgusting to the last de¬ 
gree. The dog is seen, unknown and uncared for, 
as in other parts of the East. These animals 
prowl about the villages unmolested, their num¬ 
bers being kept down only by disease and famine. 
At the capital, they are the most miserable and 
half-starved creatures that can be imagined. Cats 
are numerous, and generally of a similar breed 
with the Malay cat; that is, having half a tail 
only; they are excellent mousers. The ass (Mre) 
the sheep (Tho), and the goat (S’hait), although 
apparently bearing native names, are little known 
in the domestic economy of the Burmese. About 
the capital there are a few goats and sheep, of a 
puny race, kept more for curiosity than use. I 
saw there also a few asses, which were ascertained 
to have been brought from China. The camel, 
although a beast of burthen sufficiently well 
suited to the upper portion of the country, is not 
known to the Burmese. 
Of poultry, a few common fowls and ducks 
alone are reared, chiefly, I believe, for the pur¬ 
pose of being clandestinely sold to the Chinese, 
Christian, and Mohammedan residents. 
In a country so abounding in deserts and 
forests, and so little under the dominion of man, 
wild animals and game are numerous. The 
