The dry climate and rich soil of Upper Burma render it more suitable for the growth of wheat, maize, cotton, and many native grains, vegetables and fruits than for rice. On the mountains indigenous tea is grown, is manufactured by natives, and can be bought in any bazaar. Burma is the chosen home of the teak, that prince among timber trees. The reserved forests are under the care of a Government Department for forest conservation, and are the property of the Crown. They cover an area of several thousand square miles, and yielded in the year 1889-90, 260,074 tons of teak, beside other valuable timbers and forest productions, including indiarubber and cutch. Cutch is the common commercial name for a product of the _Acacia Catechu_ tree, very valuable as a dye. These forests brought into the public revenue, when all expenses were paid, a net surplus of 3,388,400 rupees for the year 1889-90. The export of teak timber, chiefly for the European market, amounted to 184,431 tons, and the average value was about £10 a ton. Thus Burma is already a country of great material wealth, with vast possibilities of growth and development. According to the census of 1891 the population of Burma, including the Shan States, is 8,098,014. This total is made up as follows:— Lower Burma with an area of 87,957 sq. mls., population 4,658,627 Upper Burma ” ” 83,473 ” ” 3,063,426 Shan States ” ” 40,000 ” ” 375,961 --------- 8,098,014 --------- With regard to the population of the towns, Mandalay stands first with 188,815. Next to this is Rangoon, the capital and the seat of Government, with 180,324; Maulmein has 56,000. The rest of the towns are considerably smaller.