nformation on these
points we are indebted chiefly to the researches of the Rev. Howard
Malcom.

Burmah, or the Burman Empire, lies between the Salwen river on the east,
and the Burrampooter on the northwest and north, while its western and
southern shores are washed by the great bay of Bengal, which separates
it from the peninsula of Hindustan. Besides the noble rivers which form
its eastern and north-western boundaries, its entire length from north
to south is traversed by the Irrawaddy, which after a course of 1200
miles, empties by many mouths into the Bay of Bengal. Its territory is
generally so much elevated above the level of the sea, that it enjoys,
though in the torrid zone, a comparatively salubrious and temperate
climate. The heat is rarely excessive; while winter in our sense of the
word, is unknown.

"The general features of a country so extensive are, of course, widely
diversified. It may be said of it as a whole, in the language of Dr.
Hamilton, that in fertility, beauty and grandeur of scenery, and in the
variety, value, and elegance of its natural productions, it is equalled
by few on earth."

In the parts of the country lying near the sea there are two seasons,
the wet and the dry. About the 10th of May showers commence, and
increase in frequency, until, in the latter part of June, it begins to
rain almost daily, and this continues until the middle of September.
Heavy rains then cease, but showers continue, diminishing in frequency
until the middle of October, when "the air is cool, the country verdant,
fruits innumerable, and everything in nature gives delight." Even in the
rainy season, the sun shines out a part of the day, so that the rankest
vegetation covers everything; even walls and buildings, unless smoothly
coated with plaster, are not exempt from grass and weeds. Of the climate
during the warmest portion of the year, Dr. Malcom thus writes: "I have
now passed the ordeal of the entire hot season, and of nothing am I
more convinced, both from experience and observation, than that the
climate is as salubrious and pleasant as any other in the world. I have
suffered much more from heat in Italy, and even in Philadelphia, than I
have ever done here; and have never found a moment when I could not be
perfectly comfortable by sitting still. To go abroad at mid-day, is,
however, for any but natives, eminently hazardous."

The soil, in the maritime provinces, is represented as unsurpassed in
fertil