PRAIRIES - THE GRASSLANDS
You have visited three regions of the world having different climates. First of all, you visited DRC, the land of dense forests. You saw that its climate was almost similar to that of Kerala. Then you visited Greenland which could remind you of chilly winter in Kashmir. Lastly, you visited Saudi Arabia, the land of hot sandy desert, which is like the Rajasthan desert in India. Now let us visit some place that is like our fertile northern plains and where the main occupation of the people is agriculture.
The area of land where the main vegetation is grass is called grassland. Until the arrival of extensive agriculture, grasslands covered almost half of the earth's surface. The most fertile of these were the Prairies of North America, the Pampas of South America, the Steppes of Asia, the Veld of Southern Africa, and the Downs of Australia. And it is these very plains that are now used for the cultivation of crops such as wheat and maize. Both these crops are grasses and grow well in grassland conditions.
Now let's visit one of these grasslands. Let it be the Prairies of North America.
THE JOURNEY TO NORTH AMERICAN PRAIRIES
The term 'prairie' comes from a French word which means 'meadow'. There are vast praries in Canada and the United States of America. In the United States, they include such statues as North and South Dakota, Nebraska, lowa, Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
We can go to the United States of America by air or sea. For air travel we can take a flight from ship will be a very long one. Our ship, starting from Mumbai, will have to pass through many seas on its way - the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea, the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean Sea and lastly the Atlantic Ocean. After we have reached New York City, we can travel by road, rail or air to any of the praries.
THE LAND OF PRAIRIES
Prairies were once covered with thick grasses. But now they have become the biggest wheat-producing regions in the world. They look like an endless flat plain. They remind us of the Great Northern Plains of India. But there is one big difference. We do not find here any big trees as we see dotting our plains. The farms here are very, very big. They seem to be endless. They stretch over thousands of acres. Every farm has a few houses. In these houses, the labourers and the farmer's family live. Each farm has a big shed for keeping farm machines. It has a small cattle shed also.
CLIMATE
The Prairies have hot summers. The temperature can go up to 40°C. The rainfall is light and it rains mainly in summer. Sometimes there are droughts also. The winter here are bitterly cold When it snows heavily, the temperature can go as low as -34°C. The soil and the climate of prairies are most suitable for the growth of hard grasses like wheat and maize, but not for trees. That is why the prairies are largely treeless.
Tow big rivers flow through the prairies. They are the Mississippi and Missouri. They provide enough water for the cultivation of wheat.
VEGETATION
We have learnt that the prairies are a region of grasses. The type of grasses varies according to the amount of rainfall. Their height can vary from 2 feet to 6 feet. Due to intense heat and evaporation, grasses get scorched in summer. The bluish green grasses turn yellow and brown. By the coming of autumn, they wither and begin to die. But their roots remain alive under the soil during the long chilly winter. With the coming of next spring, new grasses shoot up once again. Trees such as willow and poplar are found in valleys and on the river banks.
ANIMALS
Prairies are fertile grasslands. Thus they can provide food for many animals. They include badgers, coyotes, foxes, rabbits, mice, antelopes, prairies dogs and various snake and birds, Many of these animals have now become rare because their grassland habitat has been converted into farmland. There were once herds of bison in these grassland But they were hunted in such large numbers that now they have become almost extinct. However, prairies have no dearth of domestic animals like sheep, goats, cows, bulls, horses, donkeys, etc. These animals get enough to eat in the grasslands.
LIFE OF THE PEOPLE
Farming and cattle rearing are the main occupations of the people living in prairies. All the farm work is done with the help of machines. The ploughing of land, the sowing of seeds, harvesting, threshing and winnowing are all done with the help of machines. Even the storing of foodgrains in big storage bins is done with the help of machines.
The main crops grown by farmers are wheat, maize, barley, rye, oats and grasses. Farmers produce enough not only for their own country but also for export to other countries. That is why prairies are called the 'Wheat Basket of the World'. The farmers here are quite rich. They enjoy all the modern comforts of life.
The western part of the prairies is not so fertile. The land is hilly. The soil is not fine and it rains very little. The climate and the soil are suitable for growing grasses only. So the people in this part of the prairies rear animals instead of farming. They graze the animals on open grasslands called ranches. They have very big cattle farms. The cattle are reared mainly for beef. There are special trains for taking the animals to cities which have modern slaughter houses. Chicago is the biggest centre for slaughtering animals. Beef is the staple food of most Americans. It is produced on a large scale for local consumption and also for export to many countries.
MACHINES REPLACE MAN
Many farmers rear cattle for milk and its various products. They have big dairy farms with all the modern facilities. Almost all the work related to agriculture and dairy farming is done with the help of machines. Even the milking of cows is done with machines. Thus machines have replaced manual labour. Very few people are needed to work at these places. So more and more people are turning to big cities for work.
THE DANGER OF SOIL EROSION
Farming on prairies has made the farmers quite rich. But it has created some problems also. The problem of soil erosion is the biggest problem. The intertwining roots of grass keep the soil bound together. But when land is ploughed, the soil is loosened. Strong winds blow the loose grains of soil here and there and change them into dust. This dust is finally lifted into the air and carried away. This kind of soil erosion has ruined many farms.
You may know :
1. The grasslands of Southern Africa are called Veld.
2. Vegetable is an important part of the diet of Americans.
3. The western prairies used for grazing cattle are called ranches.
4. Cattle in the western part of the prairies are reared mainly for beef.
5. The prairies of U.S.A are popularly called the wheat Basket of the World.
Two chief crops of the prairies: Oats, rye
Two chief items exported from the prairies: Wheat, Barley
Two important wild animals found in the prairies: Prairie dogs, rabbits
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