MAGWE  , a

district in the Minbu division of Upper Burma . Area, 2913 sq. m.; pop . (1901), 246,708, showing an increase of 12'38% in the decade . Magwe may be divided into two portions: the low, flat country in the Taungdwingyi subdivision, and the undulating high ground extending over the rest of the district . In Taungdwingyi the soil is rich, loamy, and extremely fertile . The plain is about 45 M. from north to south . At its southern extremity it is about 30 M. wide, and lessens in width to the north till it ends in a point at Natmauk . On the east are the Pegu Yomas, which at some points reach a height of 1500 ft . A number of streams run westwards to the Irrawaddy, of which the Yin and the Pin, which form the northern boundary, are the chief . The only perennial stream is the Yanpe . Rice is the staple product, and considerable quantities are exported . Sesamum of very high quality, maize, and millet are also cultivated, as well as cotton in patches here and there over the whole district .

In this district are included the well-known Yenangyaung

petroleum wells . The state wells have been leased to the Burma Oil Company . The amount of oil-bearing lands is estimated at 8o sq. m. and the portion not leased to the company has been demarcated into blocks of 1 sq. m. and offered on lease . The remaining land belongs to hereditary Burmese owners called twinsa, who dig wells and extract their oil by the rope and pulley system as they have always done . Lacquered wood trays, bowls and platters, and cart-wheels, are the only manufactures of any note in the district . The annual rainfall averages about 27 inches . The maximum temperature rises to a little over loo° in the hot season, and falls to an average minimum of 53° and 540 in the cold season . The town of MAGWE is the headquarters of the district; pop . (1901), 6232 . It is diagonally opposite Minbu, the headquarters of the division, on the right bank of the Irrawaddy .