The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1884-06-27

collect the food which they are obliged
to beg for their maintenance from house
to house. The manner of living among
the priests is regulated by monastic rules.
At daybreak they rise from their beds,
and inform the populace by ringing
bells and beating drums, that they are
coming to collect food. Their scholars
and servants get everything ready for the
start, while the priests are bathing, visit
ing the temple and saying few prayers.
Then they commence their begging
rounds. Nearly always women and chill
dren present the offerings, with very low
bows, and ere long the pots are filled to
the rim with rice, fish, vegetables and
cakes. As the rules forbid priests
cooking, the gifts are handed to them
ready for eating. They return to the
temple, when the priests pick up the
incest things, and give the rest to their
servants.
There are in the country two classes of
physicians, the royal. who receive a
salary, and whose office is handed down
to their sons, and such as practice on
their own account. The former have to
90 through an apprenticeship and exam
nation before they receive adiploma and
are allowed to perform their duties. 1t
is the duty of these official doctors to
cure persons attached to the court, to
follow the army into the field, and ac-
company the princes and high officials in
their travels. A man requires no pre-
liminary studies in order to become
private medico. A recipe book and a
medicine chest, with the requisite
{ - e. e ~,
to set up this class of doctors,
whose performances are certainly eX-
tremely problematical during the first ten
years, but many become more valuable
atterward through experience. The Sa-
mese, however, know how to value their
physicians. With them it is "no cure
no pay" The best things about the pre-
scriptions of the Slamese physicians is
their harmlessncss, and if their medicines
do not always cure they at least do no
harm. The specifics are generally herbs,
which are employed in the form of tea,
pills, dccoctions and essences. Severe
diet csrictcd to rice water and fish
dried in the sun, douches and shampoo
ing, play great part in all cures, and
often have the best results.
The principal occupation of the STA
mese is agriculture, the cultivation of
rice occupying the first place. 1t is of
excellent quality. and the best in all
Asia. In addition to rice cultivation, in
which nature does the most work. the
Siamese occupy their time with horticul-
ture which demands even less labor.
The fruit trees flourish without any cul-
ture and the vegetables alone have
little more attention paid them, as they
are irrigated with mixture of water,
salt and rotten fish. This mode of treat
ment renders the plants wondrouly pro-
ductive. The indolent Siamese have left
the cultivation of the sugar cane, pepper
and tobacco, which costs more trouble,
to the industrious Chinese, who, in re-
turn, derive all the greater profit from it.
Siam is richer than any other tropical
country in every sort of fruit and veg
etable.
AS in all tropical countries the bamboo
and the canes have a great social value in
Siam. The bamboo supplies the sole
material for building the cottages for the
lower classes. Siam possesses great
wealth of ornamental, useful and dyeing
woods. Among the useful, the most
valuable is teak, which supplies an indie
structable material for ship-building.
Siam is also the land of gutta percha,
tumeric and the sweet scented aloe, which
is esteemed throughout the East as per-
fume.
The form of government is absolutely
despotic. The land has two kings, but
the first is the actual ruler and autocrat.
The second king never interferes in for
eign affairs, but in war he is placed at
the head of the army Among the
princes there are three degrees and four
of each grade hold offices Of state. The
highest among them is the viceroy. lie
has to decide on all important affairs of
state. The other usual high offices of
state are distributed among the remain
ing princes. Two of them are inspec-
tors of the elephants. one manages the
taxes, another is chief of the agricultural
department, a third minister of justice
and a fourth head of the medical de-
partment The Siamese are first rate
agricultural and commercial nation, and,
in spite Of all their campaigns, they have
never acquired a taste for war.