[A] Your Domestic Pet
Introduction : People need domestic animals for various purposes. The domestic animals do a lot of good things for the people. Sometimes we keep domestic animals as a hobby.
Description : I have a pet cat. I call her Pussy. She is beautiful to look at. I like her very much. She is also very fond of me. When I go to school, she mews about the house and looks for me. When I come back home, she runs to me. I take her in my arms. She purrs and shows her joy.
Habit : Pussy is good in her habits. She does not steal any food. She does not even touch any food if it is half uncovered. So everybody in the house likes her and gives her food when one site to eat.
Nature : Pussy is neat and clean by nature. She does not go outside the house and soils her body. She sleeps on my bed. If I am angry, she can understand. Then she mews softly and looks at my tenderly. So I cannot beat her and drive her away.
Liked by all : Pussy plays with my little brothers and sisters. They often walk about taking her in their arms. She never bites or bites or scratches (আঁচড় দেওয়া) them. So she is liked by all.
Usefulness : Pussy is a good hunter. She preys (শিকার করা) on rats, mice and other harmful insects. Thus she does some good for us.
[B] The Birds of Bangladesh
↬ Common Birds / Cage Birds of Bangladesh
↬ Migratory Birds in Bangladesh
Introduction : Bangladesh is a land of grains, fruits and fishes. So many kinds of birds are found here. They differ in size, colour and nature.
The crow : The crow is a common bird of Bangladesh. It is black in colour and looks ugly. Its voice is also harsh. It is a thief. It steals away food from the kitchen and swoops (ছোঁ মারা) upon everything it sees.
The sparrow : The sparrow is another common bird. It builds its straw-built nest in the caves (ছাঁইচ) of our houses. It flies about and twitters (কিচিরমিচির করা) all day long.
Singing birds : The Cuckoo, the Doel, the Bau Katha Kao, the Magpie-robin are the singing birds. The cuckoo is liked by all for its sweet voice. It is a bird of messages. It comes in spring and stays till the arrival of winter. The magpie-robin is a small but pretty bird. It sings and raises its tail at the same time.
Eatable birds : The dove, the pigeon, the snipe (কাদাখোঁচা). The heron, the partridge (তিতির), the goose and the chakha are some of the common birds of Bangladesh. Their meat is tasteful and delicious.
Talking birds : The parrot, the moyna, the shalik, the shyama and the chandana are talking birds. They can imitate (অনুকরণ করা) the voice of man.
Birds of prey : The kite, the hawk and the eagle are birds of prey. They prey upon chickens and ducklings. The crane and the kingfisher are found near watery places. The woodpecker is a pretty bird. The vulture is a big and ugly bird. The neck of the female vulture is reddish.
Conclusion : Birds are the beautiful creation of Allah. Most of them are very useful to us. We should be kind of them.
Same composition collected from another book
Common Birds : Bangladesh has 628 species (16 orders and 67 families; 276 passerine and 352 non-passerine), of which 338 are resident (16 orders and 60 families; 171 passerine and 217 non-passerine), and 240 are migratory (10 orders and 33 families; 105 passerine and 135 non-passerine). Sarus Crane (Grus antigone) is the largest (standing about 1.75 m tall) bird in the subcontinent, but it is now a rare occurrence in Bangladesh.
A few flowerpeckers and sunbirds, smaller than the sparrow, are perhaps the smallest. The bird population is shrinking every day. One of every nine species of birds is now threatened with extinction. Today 41 species (out of 388 species of resident birds) are threatened in Bangladesh, of which 19 are critically endangered, 18 endangered and 4 are vulnerable. Of the 388 resident species, the status of 158 could not be evaluated due to paucity of data. The ecological alterations obviously affected the composition of the avifauna. Birds associated with forests of some sort or with a swampy habitat have declined, and their places taken over by other birds. The Pink-headed Duck (Rhodonessa Caryophyllaceae), the Nukta or Comb Duck (Sarkidiornis Melanotos), the common feafowl (pavo cristatus), and the Burmese Peafowl (P. muticus), which were more or less widely distributed until 70 or 80 years ago, have virtually disappeared from Bangladesh.
Case birds : Munia, Lonchura spp., Red Munia or Avadavat, Estrilda amandava (new name Amandava amandava) and Java Sparrow, Padda oryzivora, from Bangladesh and other parts of Asia.
Common game birds in Bangladesh are Red Jungle Fowl (Banmurog/murgi), Gallus gallus; Peacock-Pheasant (Kat Mayur), Polyplectron bicalcaratum; Kalij Pheasant (Mathura or Kalo Mayur), Lophura Leucomelanos; Francolins (Titir); 3 spp. of Francolinus, Quails (Botera), 4 spp. of Coturnix and 2 spp. of Turnix. 3 spp. of Partridges belonging to arboriphila and Bambusicola. Decades back there were Indian Peafowl (Mayur), Pavo cristatus and Burmese or Green Peafowl (Bormi Mayur), Pavo muticus. Both the species are now extinct in Bangladesh. Red Jungle Fowl is the most common, followed by Mathura, in the forests of Chattogram and Sylhet divisions. Jungle fowl is common in the Sundarbans. The Bengal Florican Eupodotis bengalensis is feared to be extinct in the country. It was once present in the grasslands of northern Bangladesh and the northeastern areas.
Migratory birds : Migratory birds are the birds that visit the Bangladesh territory periodically, specially in winter. Although migration occurs among other animals like certain insects, fishes, reptiles and mammals, in no other group is it so extensive and prevalent as it is among birds. Birds may be classified according to their migratory status in a given area. Four major groups are recognized :
- permanent residents;
- summer residents or summer visitors;
- winter residents or winter visitors; and
- transient visitants or passage migrants.
Transient visitants include all the species that pass through a locality, usually twice a year : once in the spring, on their way to their breeding grounds, and again in the fall, on their way to their wintering grounds. Migratory behaviour occurs among many different groups of land and water birds. Migration occurs at specific times of the day. Birds that depend on vegetational cover and that are weak fliers are nocturnal migrants; eg, cuckoos, thrushes, wrens, etc. Birds that are fast fliers, that live in the open, on that capture their food on the wing migrate primarily by day; eg, hawks, swallows, shrikes, etc. Some large birds migrate by both day and night; eg. loons, geese and many waders.
Of the 628 bird species that occur in Bangladesh, 68 are birds of prey, of which 37 are resident and 31 are migratory. All these birds belong to the order Ciconiiformes.
[C] Rice
↬ The Production of Rice in Bangladesh
Introduction : Rice is the chief food of the people of Bangladesh. It is the seed of a plant called paddy. The plant has weak stem and paddy grows at its upper end. Rice is obtained by husking paddy. We boil rice and take it with curry.
When and how grown : Rice grows in hot countries. It grows in plenty in Bangladesh. It needs plain and moist land and heavy rainfall. Bangladesh is plain land. She sees heavy rainfall in the rainy season. So rice grows here well.
Methods of cultivation : Rice can be cultivated in two ways. The farmer, at first, ploughs the land properly. The seed is then sown and the green plants grew up gradually. The paddy then grows with the plants. In the second method, seeds are sown in seed-beds. Then they are transplanted to the fields.
Kinds : There are many kinds of rice. But they are mainly of four kinds : Aus, Aman, IRRI and Boro. Aus grows very easily and in a short time. So it is called Aus (early). It is sown in Baishakh and repped in Bhadra. Aman is sown in Ashar and Sraban and reaped in Poush. Boro is sown in marshy lands where water stands till winter. It is sown in winter and reaped in spring. IRRI grows all the year round. Of the four kinds, Aman is the best in quality.
Uses : We live mainly on rice. Chira, Muri, Khai etc. are made of rice and many kinds of cakes are made of rice flour. Children are very fond of them. Polao, Khichuri and payes are also made of rice. Straw is used as fodder for our cattle.
Conclusion : Rice is the most popular food crop in Bangladesh. It grows here in plenty. We cannot do without it even for a day. That is why we should take care of its growth. We should grow more food for our increasing population.
Same composition collected from another book
Rice is cultivated in Bangladesh throughout the year as Aush, Aman or Boro. Aman (broadcast and transplanted) is generally cultivated in December-January, Boro in March-May, and Aush in July-August cropping seasons. Among these croppings transplanted, Aman is most important and occupies about 46.30% of the rice cultivated land. The rest 26.85, 17.59 and 9.26 percent of the land is occupied by Boro, Aush and sown Aman respectively. Transplanted Among is grown throughout Bangladesh and sown or broadcast Aman is grown mostly in the south and southeastern part of the country. Aush is cultivated scattered in most of the districts.
about 40 percent of the world’s population derives most of their calories from rice. Almost 90 percent of the population of Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Kampuchea are rice eaters.
Rice is interwoven with Bangali culture. It is a symbol of wealth. The Food Department of the Government of Bangladesh recommends 410 gms of rice/head/day. In 1997-98, Bangladesh produced about 19 million metric tons of rice. This was 15% less than the need. Table shows the statistics of rice production in Bangladesh during 1997-98. Aman tops the position, followed by Boro and Aush, irrespective of area and production. Though covering 55.65% of total area. high yielding varieties (HYV) produced 73.59% of total yield. From a minor position, Boro has stepped up to the second place. In 1995-96 agricultural GDP was 30% (at current price), and crop sector had an 18% share. Rice alone-shared 13% of agriculture and 72% of the crop sector’s GDP. Rice covers about 70 percent of the total annual cropped area. It is grown throughout the year and provides employment for 75 percent of the total labour force in the rural areas of Bangladesh.
Different forms of processed rice and rice produce are consumed in Bangladesh. These are as follows : atap milled rice from sun-dried paddy; shiddhya-chaul rice milled from parboiled paddy; cheeda, khoi and moodi are flattened, puffed and popped products from paddy.
Rice grain or starch is used in the manufacture of cosmetics, cigarette paper and alcoholic beverages. Rice bran produces and edible oil and vitamins and is also used as cattle and poultry feed. Silica rice husk is used as an abrasive for polishing gun-barrels. Pure silica extracted from rice husk is used to produce microchips of electronics. Rice straw is extensively used as cattle fodder, for thatching roofs, and for the manufacture of straw boards.
Table Area and production of rice in Bangladesh (1997 – 98) :
Rice Crops
|
Area mill. ha
|
% of total area
|
production (clean rice) million m ton
|
% of total
|
Mean yield / ha (m ton)
|
Aush
|
1.56
|
15.20
|
1.87
|
9.91
|
1.20
|
(HYV Aush)
|
(0.49)
|
4.78
|
0.87
|
4.61
|
1.78
|
Aman
|
5.81
|
56.63
|
8.85
|
46.92
|
1.52
|
(HYV Aman)
|
(2.55)
|
(24.86)
|
(5.21)
|
(27.62)
|
(2.04)
|
Boro
|
2.89
|
28.17
|
8.14
|
(43.16)
|
2.82
|
(HYV Boro)
|
(2.67)
|
(26.02)
|
(7.80)
|
(41.36)
|
(2.92)
|
Total
|
10.26
|
-
|
18.86
|
-
|
-
|
(Total HYV)
|
(5.71)
|
(55.65)
|
(13.88)
|
-
|
-
|
Rice is rich in carbohydrate. The protein content is about 8.5 percent. Rich does not have C and A vitamins. The thiamin and riboflavin contents are 0.27 and 0.12 micrograms respectively.
[D] Jute
Introduction : Bangladesh is the real home of jute. It is the fibre of jute plants. The fibre is obtained from the bark of the plant. Jute plants grow ten feet or so in height (উচ্চতা).
Where and how grown : Jute grows well in the low land. Farmers plough the land from March to April. Then the seeds are sown. When the plants grow one foot high or so, the fields are weeded. After three or four months the plants are cut down and put into water to rot. After some days they are rotten. Then the fibre is taken off. Then it is washed and dried in the sun. Thus it is ready for sale. Jute is the chief article of foreign trade of Bangladesh.
Colden fibre : Bangladesh exports jute to foreign countries. It brings much money to the country. Thus jute plays a vital role in the development of the country. This is why jute is called the ‘golden fibre’ of Bangladesh.
Usefulness : Jute is a very useful thing. Ropes, gunnies are made of it. Costly clothes are also made of jute. Carpets and bags are also made form them. Raw jute is used in making paper. Stalk of the jute-plant used as fuel. Partex board are also made from the stalk of jute-plant.
Conclusion : Jute is of great use to us. We should take care of the improvement of its cultivation and jute industry.
আরো দেখুন :