small. Levies are made in case of war by way of conscription; and a specified number of houses is required to furnish a soldier completely equipped, or pay a considerable fine. All men from their seventeenth to their sixtieth year are liable for service.

CHIEF TOWNS AND ARCHITECTURAL REMAINS.-The seat of government, after oscillating between Ava and Amarapoora, is now fixed in Mandalay, a new town, founded in 1857, and situated in a dusty plain, 2 or 3 miles from the banks of the Iráwadi, and about seven miles north of Amarapoora. It is built in the form of a number of squares inclosing one another. In the innermost of these squares lives the king with the officials of the palace; in the next the other officers of state and the soldiers, occupying isolated houses; and in the outermost the rest of the population, whose dwellings are small huts made of bamboo rods covered with matting and resting on stakes buried in the mud. The shops of the Chinese, Mussulmans, and Armenians, in whose hands is the whole of the trade, are as a rule much more substantial in their character, and contrast very favourably in their external appearance with the houses of the native Burmese. Temples, pagodas, and monasteries are to be seen on all sides. Brick walls surround each of the two inner squares, and another wall skirted by a most encompasses the whole town. The population of Mandalay is estimated at 100,000, one-tenth of the number being priests. Both Ava and Amarapoora, lower down on the Irawadi, are now completely deserted, but still preserve numerous white-roofed or gilded temples and pagodas to remind one of their former glory. A considerable distance still lower down on the same river are to be seen the ruins of a still older capital of Burma, Pagan. It held the dignity of being the Burmese capital from its foundation in the ninth century to its destruction by the Tatar army of Kubla Khan towards the end of the thirteenth. Its ruins extend through a length of about 8 miles with a breadth of about 2, and it is estimated that the remains of nearly a thousand temples are contained in it. Some of these are magnificent structures and are kept in a state of repair, but the majority are in ruins. The temple of Ananda, one of these still in a state of preservation, is built in seven stories, all except the uppermost in the form of a square. The total height is 183 feet, and the length and breadth of the foundation story nearly 200 feet, to which must be added the breadth of a projecting portico (about 40 feet) in the middle of each side.

THE KARENS.

The Karens are a tribe found in the mountain forest regions of the south of the Burman kingdom and the east of British Burma, and also in an independent tract lying on the left bank of the Salwen between the Burman kingdom and the British division of Pegu. The south-western portion of the independent territory is mountainous, having heights rising to about 8000 feet, but the north-eastern tract is more level and has fertile valleys in which the Karens have settled down to agriculture. They are on the whole a very barbarous people, but they are credited with a conspicuous talent for music. Physically

they are of a robust frame. The estimates of their numbers vary, but they do not appear to exceed half a million. The area of the territory recognized in the Treaty of Mandalay of June 21, 1875, as independent both of Burma and British India is about 4000 square miles.

SIAM.

Siam (called by the natives Thai, and by the Burmese, Yudra) is an extensive kingdom in the Eastern Peninsula, lying to the south-east of Burma, between British Burma on the west and Anam on the east. Its total area is about 280,560 square miles, which includes about 208,350 square miles belonging to Siam proper and Laos, 23,400 square miles belonging to the south-eastern provinces of Siemrab and Battambong formerly included in Cambodia, and about 48,900 square miles belonging to tributary states in the Malay Peninsula extending down to about 5° N. lat. The entire population is estimated at about 5,750,000, or about 20 to the square mile; and of this total 4,650,000 is assigned to Siam proper and Laos, 500,000 to the Cambodian provinces, and 600,000 to the Malay states.

PHYSICAL FEATURES. The surface of the country is mountainous in the north, but to the south consists of broad plains with wide stretches of wellwooded hill country, in some places rising in terraces from the lowlands traversed by its rivers. Off the coasts at a distance of 10 or 15 miles are numerous islands, mostly rocky, and considerably elevated. There are, besides numerous small rivers, two great navigable streams-the Menam or Meinam, and the Mekong or Cambodia. Of these the Menam is the most important, as intersecting the greater part of Siam proper, and almost monopolizing its trade and navigation. All the Siamese rivers are flooded between June and September, and to this circumstance is mainly due the fertility of their basins. The soil of the whole valley of the Menam is of great fertility, consisting of thick beds of alluvium from the yearly inundations of that river. The more mountainous parts are of sand and limestone, arid, uncultivated, or covered with forests. The Cambodian provinces were, as long as the kingdom of Cambodia remained intact, the most fertile tracts of that state, and, according to Dr. Bastian, the only parts of that state capable of an extensive cultivation. The climate of so extensive a country varies of course with the latitude and the elevation of its surface. Here, as in neighbouring countries, the temperature and rainfall are governed by the monsoons, the north-east monsoon prevailing from December to March, the south-west from about May to October. The former is dry and cool, and reduces the temperature to between 44° and 55° Fahr.; the latter wet and warm, and raises the temperature to between 70° and 97°. On the whole the country is healthy, though in the wet season ague and cholera are prevalent. In marshy districts also cholera and small-pox are endemic.

VEGETATION -Rice is by far the most important object of cultivation, and

thrives admirably over the whole of the region, about 12,000 square miles in extent, inundated by the Menam. There are two rice harvests, the more important in November and the less important in July. Of the tropical farinaceous roots the Siamese raise the usual varieties, and among others the sweet-potato. Coco and areca palms are numerous, especially the former, in the lower districts; and the oil is extensively exported. No part of the East is more celebrated for the abundance and quality of its fruits. The mango, mangosteen, litchi, durian, pomegranate, guava, pine-apple, and, in short, all the fruits of South-eastern Asia, the Indian Islands, and tropical America, are abundant, and of exquisite quality. Of these fruits those most commonly found in Siamese gardens are the durian and the mangosteen, and the Siamese think that the two must be eaten together in order that the cooling properties of the latter may correct the heating properties of the former. The cultivation of the sugar-cane is carried on on an extensive scale, and sugar is also obtained from the coco-palin. Black pepper of good quality, tobacco, and cotton of several sorts are largely produced. Cardamoms are plentifully obtained in royal preserves strictly guarded. Gamboge is yielded by a species of Garcinia in the forests on the east coast of the Gulf of Siam, and in the Siamese portion of Cambodia (whence its name). In the same districts also are procured large quantities of scented agila, eagle, or aloes-wood, which is found still more abundantly in Anam (which see). Sappan-wood is procured extensively from the forests between lat. 10° and 13°. Excellent teak-timber abounds in the forests of Upper Siam, and is much used in the construction of junks and temples. The cultivation of the Cambodian provinces especially is very far behind what it is capable of attaining, and what it must have been when the Cambodian kingdom was at the height of its power, possessing, as its architectural remains show, a civilization of a very high degree of development. (See below.)

ZOOLOGY.-Among carnivorous animals are the tiger and leopard, the bear, otter, the musk-civet, the cat and the dog, both wild and domestic. Porcupines, squirrels, rats, and mice are common. The pangolin or scaly ant-eater is found in the forests; and its scaly skin is sold to the Chinese, who esteem it for its medicinal qualities. The orang-outang and other species of apes are pretty abundant. Among the ruminating quadrupeds are found seven species of deer, the sheep, goat, ox, and buffalo. The horses are of small size (under 13 hands), and are not much reared by the natives, those in use being principally procured from Yunnan in China. The hog exists abundantly in the forests, and is domesticated by the Chinese residents. The single-horned rhinoceros is met with in unusual numbers, and is hunted for its hide and horn, both of which are exported to China. The principal boast of the Siamese, however, is in the high perfection of their elephants, which here attain a size and beauty elsewhere unknown, and are held in high esteem throughout India. A very great additional value is set on white elephants, which, when captured, become the property of the king, and are kept at Bangkok in as great state as they are at Mandalay. They are watched and tended with the utmost care, and are adorned with golden ornaments wherever they can be attached. Among the birds the water-birds

and waders are by far the most numerous; geese, ducks, Loobies, cormorants, king-fishers, storks, and pelicans are frequent; the forests abound with peacocks, pheasants, and pigeons; and in the islands are large flocks of the swallows that produce the famed edible birds'-nests. Crocodiles, geckoes, and other kinds of lizards, tortoises, and green-turtles are numerous, the last of which, as well as their eggs, are in great request among the Siamese as an article of food, and from their sale add not inconsiderably to the royal revenue. The python serpent attains an immense size, and there are many species of snakes. The only insect in Siam worthy of notice is the Coccus lacca, which produces the valuable dye and gum, the lac of commerce.

MINERALS.-Gold is extensively diffused, and is obtained in tolerable purity.

Tin, iron, copper, and lead are abundant, and are wrought, especially the two former, to some extent by the Chinese. The sapphire, oriental ruby, and oriental topaz are found in the hills of Chantibun, on the east side of the gulf. The mineral wealth of the kingdom is, however, far from having been completely explored, and a geologist was appointed for this purpose in 1872.

TRADE AND SHIPPING, &c.-Siam has a most extensive trade, both inland and coastwise, as well as foreign. The inland trade is carried on mainly by the rivers, for there are no roads, and wheel-carriages are all but unknown. Every province of the kingdom produces some article in foreign demand; and Bangkok, from its situation on the Menam, has become the great centre of all its comThe principal articles of export in the order of their importance are

merce.

rice, sugar, pepper, sesamum, sappan-wood, hides, and cardamoms, and among other articles are teak and other kinds of timber, coco-palm oil, cotton, peas, gamboge, birds'-nests, ivory, &c., as well as tin and zinc from the Malay provinces. The foreign trade is conducted chiefly with China, the southern ports of Anam, Java, Singapore, Pulo-Penang, &c., and occasionally with British India, the United States, and Britain. In 1855 a commercial treaty was concluded with Siam by Great Britain, and since then there has been a great advance of trade. The shipping returns show that more than one-half of the trade reckoned by value is carried on in British vessels. Next to British vessels the largest tonnage is that of the Siamese vessels, some of which are built after European models, while others are junks. The chief money of Siam is the tical or bat, a silver coin, the value of which is about 2s. 6d.; the Mexican dollar, value 4s. 2d., is also common. Bronze money has recently been introduced from Britain. The chief weights are the catty 1 lb., and the picul = 133 lbs.

INHABITANTS, RELIGION, &c.-The inhabitants of Siam are estimated to be composed in the proportion of one-third of Siamese proper, about one-third Laos, about one-sixth Chinese, and the remaining sixth Malays, Cambodians, and some smaller tribes in the hills. The Siamese proper belong to the same family as the Burmese, whom they resemble in their general appearance. Their dress also is similar to that of the Burmese, and the principal difference in external appearance between a native of Burma and a native of Siam is due to the fact that while the former wears the hair long, the latter after the years of puberty has it cut short. The cutting of the hair is always an important ceremony, and after this ceremony the men retain only a bunch of short erect hair on the top of the skull, which is constantly shaven all round, while the women have their hair cut in such a manner that the length of the hair diminishes from the crown of the head downwards. They also wear side-locks which hang down behind the ear. They universally stain the teeth with an indelible black dye; and the better classes often permit the finger-nails to grow to an enormous length. The principal food of the people is rice, generally eaten along with onion and pepper sauce or curry. Fish, vegetables, and fruits are also largely consumed. The use of intoxicating liquors is forbidden by their religion, and though this prohibition is not strictly attended to, the Siamese are not much addicted to this kind of excess. On the other hand, the practice of chewing the betel-nut, which, as in Burma, is universal, is sometimes carried to such an extent as to produce a species of intoxication, and a worse kind of intoxication is sometimes due to eating a kind of fruit called the lamphong, the use of which is on that account forbidden by royal decree. In consequence of their addiction to the practice of betel-nut chewing, the mouths of the Siamese are nearly always stained. of a dark-red colour, and it is to conceal the discoloration of the teeth that ensues from it that the custom of staining them black is followed. The Siamese are described as lively, timid, inconstant, servile, and indolent, but humane and charitable; a prominent feature in their character is their excessive national vanity, which exceeds even that of the Chinese.

The houses are for the most part lightly constructed, like those of most other