The kingdom of . irtywater that gathers in pools in the deepest places,whilst the ground-water, if obtainable, is generallytoo salt to be drinkable. Removing to the higher regions when the floodscommence, and to the riverside in the dry season, is,therefore, often necessary, this compels people tocontent themselves with most primitive and uncom-fortable shelters. Communication, moreover, is still worse thanproduction. Roads are almost impassable in con-sequence of the flooding, and the rivers mostly arenavigable only during a few months. It is certainly no surprising fact that under suc
The kingdom of . irtywater that gathers in pools in the deepest places,whilst the ground-water, if obtainable, is generallytoo salt to be drinkable. Removing to the higher regions when the floodscommence, and to the riverside in the dry season, is,therefore, often necessary, this compels people tocontent themselves with most primitive and uncom-fortable shelters. Communication, moreover, is still worse thanproduction. Roads are almost impassable in con-sequence of the flooding, and the rivers mostly arenavigable only during a few months. It is certainly no surprising fact that under suchunfavorable circumstances the inhabitants are poorand backward compared with the Siamese of LowerSiam, and that the sanitary conditions of the peopleare worse than anywhere else in Siam. Enteric dis-eases (dysentery and cholera), fever, and small-poxare very common in these regions. The people live in small settlements spread overthe country. There are only a few towns in theeastern provinces, and these are very A General Description of Siam 55 The principal means of subsistence is rice methods are primitive; the crop is uncertain,small, and of inferior quality. In the higher regionsthe rice is planted in the rainy season; in the deepinundated tracts people cannot commence to plantbefore the water subsides. In the last case the cropis particularly uncertain. The Korat plateau has nearly no rice to spare forexport; from the Talesap plain one to two hundredthousand piculs annually are exported. Cattle and swine breeding and salt making out ofthe salt surface earth in the salt wastes are the mostimportant industries, and silk weaving, timber, to-bacco, fishing in the great lake, and collecting jungleproduce are subsidiary employments. There is also some mining of copper, iron, gold,and rubies in the Korat plateau, but this is not ofreal importance. As these eastern provinces have little to export,the import trade and the interior trade are of coursealso small.
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