The climate of the Birman empire appears to be very healthy and agreeable. The seasons are regular, and the extremes of heat and cold are seldom expe rienced for any considerable length of time. Imme diately before the commencement of the rains, the heat indeed becomes very intense, but it is only of short duration Towards the end of May, Colonel Symes found the thermometer at about noon.
The soil of the southern provinces of the Birman empire is remarkably fertile, and produces as luxurious crops of rice as are to be found in the finest parts of Bengal ; but in some parts extensive plains are to be seen, on which the vestiges of cultivation are evident, which have been desolated by the ravages of war du ring the contest between the Birmans and the Pe guese, so that the finest territories in the world have in many places become the domain of the wild beasts of the forest. In the northern parts of the empire, the country is irregular and mountainous ; but the plains and valleys, particularly near the rivers, are ex ceedingly fertile. They yield excellent wheat, and the various kinds of small grain which grow in Hin dostan, with most of the different species of esculent vegetables. Sugar canes, tobacco of a superior qua lity, cotton, indigo, and the various tropical fruits, are natural products of this country. The art of agriculture, however, is still in a state of imperfec P tion ; but this does not seem to arise so much from want of skill in the people as from their present situa tion, which renders great exertion to procure subsist ence by no means necessary. The Birmans 'are in a state similar to that of a colony in a new territory : land is cheap and abundant, while labour is procured with difficulty ; and hence, they cultivate only the most fertile spots, and even then .only in an indifferent manner, leaving the greater part of the work to na ture, which has been very bountiful to this country. In some quarters, however, neat farms are to be seen ; the lands arc fenced and divided into inclosures to re ceive the cattle, of which there ate great abundance ; the fields are divided by thorn hedges ; the low grounds arc prepared for rice, and the higher lands are planted with leguminous shrubs, or left for pas ture. The cattle used in some parts of the country for draft and tillage are remarkably good ; they em ploy only two of them in the plough, which turns up the soil very superficially. In their large carts they put four strong oxen, which arc driven at the gallop by a girl standing up in the vehicle, wbo manages the reins and whip with ease and dexterity. In conse quence of many parts of the country remaining in a state of nature, the woods are large and numerous, affording an abundant supply of various kinds of tim ber. The monarch of the Birman forests, however, is the teak tree, which grows in plenty in the southern parts of the empire, near the large rivers, and is considered as superior to the European oak. This species of wood is of peculiar importance to our .
settlements in India for ship-building, and is on this account one of the most valuable productions of the country.
The Birman empire abounds in minerals. There are several mines of gold and silver in this country, and the former metal is likewise found in the beds of streams which descend from the mountains. Precious stones are also met with in various parts of this coun try, as rubies, sapphires, amethysts, garnets, chryso lites, jaspers, loadstone, and marble equal in quality to the fintst of Italy. The inferior minerals, as iron, lead, tin, antimony, arsenic, sulphur, are also found in great abundance. The Birmans have likewise natu ral wells of petroleum, similar to the coal tar for which Europe is indebted to the ingenuity of Lord Dundonald. Captain Cox mentions, that at one place there are upwards of 500 pits or wells of this use ful production. The animals of this country cor respond in general with those of Hindostan, so that they will not require any particular'description.
The manufactures of the Birman empire consist -chiefly of cotton and silk goods, saltpetre, gunpow der, various kinds of pottery, marble statues of the idols they adore. At a certain village, Colonel Symes saw thirty or forty large yards -crowded with statu aries at work on images of various sizes, but all of the same personage, namely Gadama, sitting cross leg ged ou a pedestal. The quarries, from which they obtain the materials, are only a few miles distant. The marble is brought to the village in blocks ; and after being cut, the images are sold to the natives. The smallest exceeded the human stature, and the price was said to be 100 tackals, or about 12 or 13 pounds sterling ; but some diminutive images were so low as two or three tackals. The workmen were civil and communicative. Their tools were a chissel and a mal let, and they smooth the images with freestone and water. Many of the idols were beautifully polish ed, which is said to be done by rubbing the marble with three different kinds of stone ; the first rough, the second finer, and the third such as hones are made of. The workmen afterwards use the palms of their hands, an operation which gives the images a trans parent clearness far surpassing the brightest polish that European marble ever exhibits. Of late years, the Birmans have made rapid progress in the art of shipbuilding. Formerly they used only small vessels
like boats ; but, in consequence of their communica tion with Europeans, they are now launching vessels of considerable magnitude. When the British em bassy was at Rangoon, the principal port of the Bir mans, Colonel Symes saw several ships on the stocks from 600 to IWO tons burden : three or four of the vessels belonged to English adventurers. Ships may be constructed in this country at one third less than in the Ganges, and for nearly one half of what they would cost at Bombay. The Birman shipwrights appear to finish their work well ; they are of an ath letic- form, and possess in an eminent degree that vi gour which distinguishes Europeans, and gives them a vast superiority over the enervated natives of Hin dostan. It is said, however, that the ships of Pegu are not so firmly made as those constructed in our. ports. • The art of vitrification has long been known in the East, but the inhabitants are unable to make so •hard and transparent a substance as that which is brought from Europe. On the subject of this ma nufacture, Colonel Symes mentions the following cu rious and interesting fact : " The Birman monarch," says he, " who is a great admirer of this manufacture, was particularly desirous to introduce it into his own dominions ; and supposing that every Englishman must be versed in the knowledge of making whatever comes from his own country, he sent a message to request that I would furnish his artificers with such instructions as might enable them to fabricate glass of a quality equal to what was made in England. Unluckily none of us happened to be skilled in the mystery of a glass-house ; all, therefore, that we could do, was to explain the principles of the art, which Dr Buchanan obligingly undertook ; and, in order to facilitate them in the acquirement, and guide them in the practice, I lent them the Encyclopedia Britannica, and pointed out the article where the process is fully explained. Baba Sheen, the second in authority at the port of Rangoon, and the Arme nian interpreter, translated it into the Birman tongue." The commerce of the Birman empire is very con siderable. An extensive trade is carried on between the capital and Tunan in China. The principal ex port from the Birman territory is cotton, of which it, is said there are two kinds, one of a brown colour, of which nankeens are made, the other white like the cotton of India: This commodity is transported up the Irrawaddy in large boats, as far as a place called Barnoo, where it is bartered with the Chinese mer chants, who convey it partly by land and partly by water into China. Amber, ivory, precious stones, betel nut, and the edible nuts, brought from the eas tern archipelago, are also articles Ot commerce. In return the Birmans procure raw and wrought silks, gold leaf, preserves, paper, and some hardware uten sils. There is also a considerable inland commerce carried on between the different parts of the interior, particularly in the necessaries of life. Several thou sand boats are employed in transporting rice and salt front the southern provinces, to supply the capital and the northern districts. On the coast the Birmans pos sess several excellent ports, particularly Negrais, Mer gui, and Rangoon. The imports into the latter place from the British settlements in 1791-5, Colonel Symes was informed, amounted to about R135,000 Sterling. They consisted chiefly of coarse piece goods, glass, hardware, and broad cloth : the returns were made almost wholly in timber. In order to encourage our trade with this country, the king, upon our embassy in 1795, granted several valuable privileges to our merchants. The Birmaris are so sensible of the ad vantages of commerce, and so desirous of extending it, that of late years they have tolerated all descrip tions of people, Pagans, Jews, Mahometans, Chris tians, the disciples of Confucius, and the worshippers of fire, and invited strangers of every nation to resort to their ports ; and being free from the prejudices of cast which shackle their Indian neighbours, they per mit foreigners to intermarry and settle among them. The children of strangers of every description of a Birman woman become subjects of the state, Sand are entitled to the same privileges as if they had sprung from, a line of Birman ancestry. In their commercial transactions, the Birmans, like the Chinese, make no use of coin. Silver in bullion and lead are . the current monies of this country; weight and purity are of course the standard value, and ifi ascertain ing these the natives are exceedingly scrupulous and expert. Money scales and weights arc all fabri. ,cated at the capital, when they are stamped and cir culated throughout the empire, while the use of any other is prohibited. The bankers are also workers in silver, and assayers of metal. This is a very nume rous class of people, and indispensably necessary, as no stranger can undertake either to pay or receive money without having it first examined by one of them. Ever:y merchant has a banker of this descrip tion, with whom he lodges all his cash, and who re ceives a commission of.one per cent. upon it, in con sideration of which he is responsible for the quality of what passes through his hands ; and there has been no instance, in which a branch of trust was com mitted by one of these bankers.