The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-03-15
BURMA IN 1910
CONTINUED from Page Futsa.t

row-sauge lines built OF rails v,irh.r.
about fifty pounds 70 the yard. r,CT
are mostly single track. The materials
used III their construction have bon
imported from England. with tha .,
ception Of the great Yiaduct at Coz
teik gorge, which was built by Amf,j-
cans. This tiaduct is 500 feet hist
n it stands upon a natural brifz
which itself is several hundred feel
above the stream. The yiaduct is =
haIf-mile in length. 1t was awarded
to the Pennsylvania Steel C0mpanz- in.
q competition in which both German
and English bridge builders took part
The railways were all constructed b.
the state until q few years ago, when
they were handed over 30 the Burna
Railways Company, which MANAGES
them under government regulations.
This company IS now making surveys
for extension. AS far as [ can learn
the roads are we'll managed. Durinq
the past year there have been only
thirteen accidents and no serious In
iuries to speak OF.
The Good Roads Movement
The lieutenant governor tells M
that the good roads movement IS f.
existence and that the highways arr
being steadily pushed by the depart
ment Of public works. There are now
more than eleven thousand miles Of
we'll made roads IN Burma, and the
government IS spending something like
$1,000 0 3. year on maintaining and
extending them. The average country
road, made under government direc-
ton, has q width OF from sixty to
one hundred feet, with a path sixteen
feet wide in the center, The founda-
ton is stone. which is kept III order
with q steam roller where possible
and In other places by rollers drawn
by bullocks. The cost Of the roads
vegetation, and in lower Burma it is
laid to be something like $500 per
mile every year. This Is largely owing
to the scarcity OF good stone for
crushing and the high cost OF Labor.
A Country OF Waterways.
The principal transportation OF in@
terror Burma is by water. The IFaWadi
one OF the great rivers Of the world
runs through the land from one end
to the other. It has many branches.
and these are SO connected by Canal~
that one can go over a large part OF
the low!ands in boats. 1t IS navigahlt
all the year for @ thousand miles for
large steamers Of about six feet draft
1t averages more than Il mile "iul
and at the floods it is four or ttyt
miles across in some places.
Lie tFd0e or the river - tdfSt9
monopolized by the Irawadi FIotiEls
Company This was organized aoot
fifty years ago, and its vessels no"
reach almost every river and creek
Inc com any has 2T3 vessels, with a
tonnage OF over ninety thousand, max
ing 1t one OF the largest OF the kind
IN addition to its freight tr2tii1f-
which is enormou it has q large pas
senger business The river boats are
There is a service fr""
here to Mandalay Of three boats q
week and beyond that, as far as
phano, twice every week. The
steamers are comfortable and arc
largely patronized by tourists. Their
ca bins are roomy, we'll furnished ana
Tilted with electric fans. They look n0t
Il our mississippi river steamer
and make about the same speed.
The trip from Rangoon to handaia$
up stream takes six days. and FROM
Mandalay to Bhamo car be made IN
three days. The rates are high II
IN addition passengers must pay trpc*
$3.50 to $l.60 for their food.