PAKOKKU  , a

district in the Minbu division of Upper Burma,, lying west of the Irrawaddy river and south of Mandalay, with the line of the Chin hills as a general boundary on the west . It has an area of 6210 sq. m. and a population (1901) of 356,489 . The part of the district along the Irrawaddy and Chindwin rivers is alluvial . Beyond this, however, the country rises gradually to the low Shinmadaung and Tangyi ridges, where it is very arid . To the westward there is a rapid drop to the well-watered valley of the Yaw River, and then a rise over broken, dry country before the valleys of the Myit-tha and Mon rivers are reached . The principal products are millet, sesamum. and sugar produced from toddy-palms in the riverain districts, which also grow rice, grain, peas and beans . Tobacco and vegetables are also produced in some quantity, and maize is grown largely for the sake of the husk, which is used for native cheroot-wrappers, under the name of yaw pet . The Yenangyat oil-fields, which produce quantities of petroleum, are. in the south of the district, and iron used_ to be worked in .a small way . There are 1151 sq. m. of reserved: forests in the district . A good deal of teak and cutch is worked out . The cutch of the Yaw country is particularly esteemed . The average rainfall does not exceed 35 in. annually, and in many places water has to be carted for miles .

West of the P8ndaung

ridge, however, under the Chin hills, the rainfall exceeds 50 inches . The heat in May and June is very great, and the thermometer rises considerably above ioo° F. in the shade . The great majority of the population is Burmese, but in Yaw there is a peculiar race called Taungthas, who claim to be quite distinct from both Burmese and Chins . In Igor the Taungthas numbered 5700 . The headquarters town, Pakokku, stands on the right bank of the Irrawaddy, and has grown into importance since the British occupation . It is the great boat-building centre of Upper Burma . The population in 1901 was 19,456 . It may be described as the emporium of the trade of the Chindwin and, Yaw river valleys . The steamers of the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company call here regularly, and it is the starting-point for the vessels plying on the Chindwin .