82



BURMA




keep the pasture green till
March. By April the ele-
phant-grass in the Kwin is
dry and ready to burn like
a prairie. Camp fires and
cultivation fires spread, or
the stump of a burning
cheroot starts the fire, which
runs through the kaing and
the bamboo forest till it is
stopped by a broad water-
course. In the hot weather
the thatch and bamboo of
the houses are as dry as tinder, and village fires are frequent. A hook and
flapper on long bamboo poles are provided at every house to tear off" the thatch
and beat out the fire (No. 431). Water-pots are set along the roof- ridges, so
that they only need to be overturned. But if a high wind is blowing, the
burning thatch is carried across streets and creeks. The people can only save
their movables and accept the situation, which they do with characteristic good
humour. The religious buildings being more substantial, there is a better
chance of extinguishing them when on fire. Religious merit is to be gained by
the effort ; the whole village turns out with waterpots to quench the flames and
slake the embers.
178. SCENE IN THE PLAINS AT. FLOOD-TIME.
179. THE IIRAWADI AT PROME ip. 137>.
181. BRICK-MAKERS (p- 97).
CHAPTER V

TRADES AND PROFESSIONS

Most artizans in the rural
settlements are cultivators
as well, plying their special
trade in the by-season. The
home industries continue to
be practised in the seaport
towns, where certain of them,
such as rice-cleaning, are con-
ducted wholesale (No. 184).
