The kingdom of . poppy for opium, althoughin its infancy, promises to become of considerableimportance. It is cultivated chiefly on the Burmesefrontier by a race known as the Meow, who haveprobably become acquainted with the method ofcultivation from the people under British rule. Other foodstuffs are planted to a minor extentbut only for local consumption, c. g., sugar-cane,bananas, oranges, mangoes, limes, and various in-digenous fruits. The country has proved itself capable of produc-ing most European vegetables, and in many of thelarge towns cabbages, beet-roots, lettuce, carrots,et
The kingdom of . poppy for opium, althoughin its infancy, promises to become of considerableimportance. It is cultivated chiefly on the Burmesefrontier by a race known as the Meow, who haveprobably become acquainted with the method ofcultivation from the people under British rule. Other foodstuffs are planted to a minor extentbut only for local consumption, c. g., sugar-cane,bananas, oranges, mangoes, limes, and various in-digenous fruits. The country has proved itself capable of produc-ing most European vegetables, and in many of thelarge towns cabbages, beet-roots, lettuce, carrots,etc., can be procured. There are no large centres of industry, but a gooddeal of work is done by people in their own homes. Most houses possess a loom, in which is wovenboth silk and cotton cloth sufificient for the needsof the household. The yarn and raw silk are mostly imported. InChieng Mai, the capital of Upper Siam, a large quan-tity of lacquer-ware is made chiefly by the immi-grants from the old capital, A Temple A General Description of Siam 27 The foundation of this ware is woven bamboo;the frame is coated with a paste of wood oil mixedwith bone ash, and when nearly dry a secondcoating of wood oil mixed with cinnabar is appliedand allowed to harden. On the smooth surfacethus produced the pattern is engraved by sharptools and the incisions filled with a black varnish;the whole is then rubbed smooth with pumice-stoneand a final coating of varnish applied. Many specimens of this ware will be found amongthe Siamese exhibits. A small amount of native iron is worked, chieflyfor the manufacture of knife-blades. Bronze casting must formerly have reached a highdegree of excellence, but to-day is chiefly confinedto replicas of existing work. Scattered profuselyover the country are to be found bronze statues ofGautama, some life-size, many larger, but nearly allof artistic workmanship. The reason of the decayof this craft is probably due to the gradual shifting ofthe cen
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