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Early agriculture is the oldest form of agriculture and still prevalent in some parts of the world. From the primitive collection, some people have taken a step “up” on the economic scale by learning the art of domesticating plants and their economy has evolved to primitive culture. This type of agriculture is self-sufficient and farmers only grow food for themselves and their families. Some small surpluses can be exchanged or sold for cash.

 

The resulting economy is therefore static with little chance of improvement, but there is a high degree of rural independence as farmers are not tied to homeowners or shopping centres.

Primitive subsistence agriculture or shifting cultivation is characterized by the following characteristics:

( i ) The sites for the ladang are usually chosen in the virgin forest by experienced elders. Hill slopes are preferred because of better drainage. Many ladangs are located in remote interiors, away from major population centres.           

It is partly for historical reasons that most shifting cultivators have been forced into less favourable areas by the expansion of more advanced farmers in the lower and better lands. Their isolation hinders their progress and makes the dissemination of new ideas more difficult. 

(ii) Forests are usually cleared by fire and ashes add to soil fertility. Trees that are not burned are cut by men or abandoned to decompose naturally. Shifting cultivation is also called slash-and-burn agriculture.

   

(iii) The cultivated spots are usually very small; about 0.5-1 hectare (1-3 acres) dispersed in their distribution and separated from each other by dense forests or bush.

 

(iv) The culture is made with very primitive tools such as sticks and hoes, without the aid of machines or even dried animals. Much manual labour is needed for clearing to produce food for a few people.   

Thus, despite the little attention paid to crops once planted, no other form of agriculture wastes as much human energy and is as unattractive as shifting cultivation.   

(v) Few harvests are high in gear. The main crops are starchy foods such as tapioca, cassava or cassava, yams, corn or maize, millet, mountain rice, beans and bananas. The crops are sown at calculated intervals, often between other plants, so that the crop can be staggered to provide food all year round. The same types of crops are practiced on all farms.

     

(vi) Short periods of crop occupation alternate with long fallow periods. When yields can no longer sustain the community due to soil depletion or the invasion of weeds and shrubs, fields are abandoned and fresh areas are cleared. “Field rotation” rather than “crop rotation” is practiced.     

(vii) This form of the “migratory agriculture” still supports the most indigenous tribes in the rainforest, in spite of efforts by local governments, as elements for reposing. Soil nutrient depletion, the deterioration of lightly constructed bamboo houses and the attacks of pests, diseases or wildlife are some of the main reasons that make migration a necessity.           

Democracy is better than any other form of government. It gives equal rights and freedom to every individual. But also, he has some demerits. Let’s take a look at some of them. 

Here are the demerits of democracy:

 1. Unstable Government Many political parties are allowed to criticize the government and its policies. Sometimes this leads to the fall of the ruling party and re-election in the country. This gives instability to the government.

 2. A slow and inefficient government. The most common demerit of democracy is that its functioning is slow. The decision-making process involves lengthy debates and deliberations in Parliament. It takes a long time before decisions are made.

 3. Incompetence Democracy gives every individual the right to express his concern. Therefore, everything the world focuses on personal interests and not on collective interests. This sometimes leads to incompetent and erroneous selections of government candidates.

 4. Role of Money in a Democracy Money plays an important role in elections. It takes a lot of money to organize demonstrations, public meetings and speeches. These candidates are chosen in the elections, who can raise a lot of money for the party.

Hint: Naming of plants and animal species scientifically is considered as binomial nomenclature. The name that is been assigned in this manner is known as the scientific name. 

Complete answer:

Scientific names consist of genus and species. Genus name starts with a capital letter and is written in italics whereas species name always starts with a small letter and is written in italics. 

Scientific name for 

TIGER: Panthera tigris.

PEACOCK: Pavo cristatus.

ANT: Formicidae.

NEEM: Azadirachta indica.

LOTUS: Nelumbo nucifera.

POTATO: Solanum tuberosum.

Note: While giving the binomial nomenclature name one should be familiar with certain rules:

– Scientific names are derived from the Latin language.

– Scientific name should be in Italics when typed.

– It should be underlined when handwritten.

– The genus name starts with the capital letter and it is continued with the species name in small letters.

Since fuels have become a part of modern lifestyle, it is becoming used up to a great extent of getting run out. There are ways in which we can conserve the nature and most importantly the fossil fuels.

(i) Conversion into efficient forms like CNG.

(ii) Protection of resources from fires.

(iii) Avoid wastage of oil.

(iv) Make more use of renewable source of energy like using solar energy, wind mills to generate electricity.

Hint: The word ‘democracy’ has a Greek origin. ‘Demo’ means ‘people’, whilst ‘cracy’ means ‘power’. Democracy is a type of government system where the people of the country have the power to make decisions about their country and the government doesn’t simply impose its decision on the people. 

Complete answer:

The most modern interpretation of democracy was given by American President, Mr. Abraham Lincoln, who said ‘democracy is the government of the people, for the people, by the people’. In today’s contemporary world, democracy has been accepted as the best form of government, although its successful working depends on certain pre-requisites. The word ‘democracy’ means ‘rule by the people. ‘A democracy is a system where people can change their rulers in a peaceful manner and the government is given the right to rule because the people say it may.

MERITS OF DEMOCRACY:

1. The participation of the individual members in the government facilitates enlisting their sympathy and cooperation to the success of the government.

2. It is an effective form to educate the public about political, economic and social affairs.

3. It is helpful to promote patriotism among the people and prevents the occurrence of violent revolutions.

4. It helps to make progress and development and enables changes to take place in a peaceful manner.

5. It ensures the people freedom of speech, conscience, assembly and action.

6. It guarantees liberty and equality, which are necessary for human development.

7. In a democracy, the rights and interests of every section of the people in a democratic state are adequately safeguarded. It can command the resources of all because it stands for the benefit of all.

8. It broadens the vision of all, neutralizing the inherent selfish tendencies of the human mind.

9. It offers a huge personal privilege to every citizen of the land and stands against any suppression of thought, speech or association.

10. The greatest virtue of democracy is that it stands for the unfettered development of the human spirit and free expression of the human mind.

DEMERITS OF DEMOCRACY:

1. It sometimes leads to establish the majority view over the minority view. 

2. Party leaders and political office holders in government control the citizens and the members of the party.

3. It does not encourage individuals to give their opinions. 

4. It is a very expensive form of government because elections have to be conducted periodically to the various office.

5. It is difficult to prevent corruption and malpractices.

6. It is also known as government by amateurs and lead to the domination of the masses.

7. The decision-making process is slow in democracy as it involves long debates and deliberations in Parliament.

8. Self-discipline, a good conscience, and intellect are pre-requisites for every citizen to have a successful democratic society.

9. Self-interest is the most common and a majority of the people is unwilling to subordinate it to the general will of the community.

10. Democracy has been characterized by these critics as mobocracy, it produces quantity rather than quality. This rule of the majority has at times proved to be the most incompetent and worthless. 

The world has been experimenting with so many systems of government, but no other system could satisfy the basic needs of the people. So, democracy has been accepted as the best form of government where a man can really enjoy equality of opportunity, liberty, and freedom.

Note: Democracy is a form of government where:

– Rulers elected by the people take all major decisions

– In this government elections offer a fair opportunity for people to elect their representatives and also to change their current representatives.

-The opportunity to choose their representatives is accessible for everyone on equal terms.

Hint: Resource refers to all the materials available in our environment which help us to satisfy our needs and wants. Every country has its own resources on which the entire population relies. These resources are either natural or manmade.

Complete answer:

Actual Resources: Actual resources are the resources where quantity is known which are being used in the present. Actual resources are the ones surveyed, determined by their quantity and consistency. Coal, water, and petrol are actual resources. At the current time, they are being used. These resources have been surveyed, their quality and quantity are determined and are currently in use. The help of advanced technologies is used to dig out these resources. 

Some examples of these resources are natural oil reserves of the Middle East, the hydroelectric power of Niagara Falls, iron ore deposits of Madhya Pradesh, petroleum and natural gas in West Asia and India’s Mumbai High, dark soils in Deccan plateau and rich coal deposits in Germany. 

Potential Resources: The resources that are present in a specific region and can be used in the future are classified as potential resources. The exact quantity and consistency of the resource are uncertain. Advanced technology is needed to make the best use of these resources. 

Here we do not know the exact quantity and quality of the resource. We need advanced technology to use these resources in future. As technology grows it is possible to use it in the future. They are not actually being used.

Some examples are the existence of Mineral Oil is depicted in major parts of India where sedimentary rocks are found but the date it is actually drilled out and put into use, it remains as a potential resource. In the same way, Uranium found in the terrains of Ladakh also comes under this category. Almost 200 years back, high-speed winds were recognised as a potential resource, today it is used as an actual resource in wind farms for generating wind energy using windmills in the Netherlands, Nagercoil in Tamilnadu and Gujarat states of India.

Note: The distribution of natural resources depends upon many physical factors like land, climate and altitude. The distribution of resources is unequal because these factors differ from place to place on this earth.