Chapter 53 Potato Planting

December 16, 1866.

Karatu, the capital of the Northern Plateau District.

To the northwest of Karatu is the famous Serengeti savanna, the real animal world.

At present, every area in the East African colonies, except for the upper coastal area, which has undergone a thorough cleansing, is basically the territory of wild beasts.

Even the indigenous people, whose population is relatively large compared to the immigrants, are small and insignificant in front of the huge fauna of East Africa.

These abundant animal resources allow these indigenous people to live a prosperous life only by hunting.

After hunting every day, I just sing, dance, and go to sleep when it gets dark. I have no other worries. After all, there are really endless animals to hunt, and there is no need to worry about tomorrow's food source.

As immigrants who came to Africa to farm, they naturally could not imitate these natives and live by hunting.

Their ideas and concepts have been influenced by thousands of years of farming culture, and they emphasize hard work and getting rich. The attitude of life of the indigenous people who only consider the present and do not think about the future will not be felt by immigrants for the time being.

In fact, human concepts are endowed by social characteristics. For example, the indigenous people did not develop a country, but the environment in Africa made them live very well under the most primitive tribal system. Once they entered a relatively advanced social system, they developed. Half dead.

After all, humans who left East Africa millions of years ago were faced with survival problems, so they took the initiative to learn to plant and breed.

For example, in a vast desert like Egypt, if you don't rely on the Nile River to do some farming, survival is a problem. Human beings who left Africa eventually embarked on the road of "Roll King".

Millions of years later, Europeans came back and directly "rolled" these indigenous African tribes to death.

…

Whenever immigrants from the East African colonies arrived at a new location, they had to first clean up the local wild animals and threatening indigenous tribes.

In order to prevent accidents from happening, immigrants work and carry out collective activities to prevent any fish from slipping through the net and attacking immigrants.

The vegetation near Karatu is lush, but it is basically in a withered state during the dry season. Yellow vines and weeds cover the land with a thick layer.

The immigrants who first came here first used fire to burn away the yellow vegetation. After the fire, a thin layer of vegetation ash was left to accumulate on the land.

Then use shovels and hoes to clean out the plant roots buried in the soil. After the soil is turned over, the light red soil comes into view.

Therefore, Karatu's immigrant residential area and the renovated land are all dazzling red. When paired with the surrounding yellow vegetation and the hazy low sky under the strong sunlight, it looks a bit depressing.

There is relatively little precipitation in the Karatu area. Because of its inland and plateau topography, it is difficult for water vapor from the Atlantic and Indian Oceans to penetrate deep here.

There are two large lakes in the east and west of Karatu. Lake Eyasi in the west is a seasonal shallow internal salt lake, and Lake Manyara in the east is also a saltwater lake.

Both are lakes formed in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, and flocks of flamingos and other water birds can be seen on these two lakes.

North of Karatu is the Rogorongoro Mountains. Rogorongoro is a plateau volcano. Karatu is located on the southern edge of the Rogorongoro Mountains.

Ngorongoro is a very unique area, with a concentration of various ecological landforms such as grasslands, forests, hills, lakes, and swamps. Countless types of wild animals live here, gradually forming an independent ecological chain system.

Rogorongoro means "big hole" in the indigenous African language.

Lake Manyara is the gateway to the Ngorongoro Crater Nature Reserve, which Hemingway once described as "the loveliest place in Africa".

The famous Maasai people in Africa live in the area near the crater of Rogorongoro and lead a nomadic life.

During the dry season, the lake filled with water in the crater becomes a water source for nearby animals, and groups of animals live here.

As the newly established regional capital of the East African colony, Karatu is definitely not outstanding, and its future development potential is not as good as the capitals of other regions.

The reason why it was separated as the capital of the Northern Plateau District is because of its location. It is located in the center of the Northern Plateau District.

In Africa, Mwanza and Kigoma have superior natural conditions, Dodoma has outstanding transportation advantages, and the first town in the east is the place where the colony was first established.

Only Karatu and Ronroda in the Lower Marina region became the administrative centers of the region because of the circles Ernst randomly drew on the map.

In the East African colonies, all cities basically started from the same starting point, so the future development of Karatu and Ronroda still depends on whether the two capitals can take advantage of their first-mover advantages.

Karatu has relatively little rainfall, so instead of rice and wheat, potatoes were chosen as crops.

Potatoes are a typical lazy crop, and like sisal, they don’t require as much care.

Potatoes like cold and hate heat, and the Karatu region has a high altitude and the temperature is between ten and twenty degrees.

The lighting conditions in the plateau area are basically the most suitable for crop growth. The atmosphere is thin, the clouds are shallow, and the lighting is strong.

At the same time, the soil is slightly acidic. The reason why plant ash was added before reclamation is that it is slightly acidic.

The soil of Karatu is also relatively loose and non-sticky, which facilitates the expansion of the potato rhizomes in the later stage.

Don’t worry about the water needed to grow potatoes. Although there is less precipitation, the water in the river is enough.

The settlers used tools to dig up the soil, then made ridges, and divided the sprouted potato stems into groups of two buds. Every 20 to 30 centimeters apart, the potato buds were inserted into the plowed soil with the upward direction. , and finally sprinkle with fertilizer, and the planting is ready.

When it comes to the choice of cash crops, Karatu still chooses sisal.

Forest resources are relatively abundant in the Rogorongoro Mountains, which facilitated the construction of Karatu.

Wooden structures are often used to build houses, and it is also convenient to build some production tools, such as waterwheels and windmills.

Karatu immigrants are currently only active in the southeastern part of the Rogorongoro Mountains and have not penetrated deep into the interior of the Rogorongoro Mountains.

Therefore, in the northwest direction of the entire northern plateau area, mainly the Serengeti grassland area, no East African colonial forces have entered.

On the contrary, to the west is the Great Lakes District. The immigrant population of the Great Lakes District is second only to the Upper Coast District, and there is no natural barrier between the Great Lakes District and the Serengeti grassland.

Therefore, the Serengeti grassland is divided into the Great Lakes region, but the animals in the Serengeti grassland are a real animal paradise.

In the documentary of the previous life, tens of thousands of wildebeests crossing the river are the scene on the Serengeti grassland. The river is called the Mara River, which is the river between Kenya and Tanzania. Every year, wildebeests and other animals in Kenya Migrating between the Masai Mara and the Serengeti in Tanzania.

Such a large piece of land was not effectively developed in Tanzania in previous lives, but was treated as a national park. The East African colonies would not hesitate to develop the Serengeti.

It is indeed difficult to deal with so many wild animals, and the East African colonies will definitely develop barbarically in the early days, and wild animals in other areas have already suffered.

It is better to leave the Serengeti grassland and leave a piece of pure land for the wild animals of East Africa. The most indispensable thing for the East African colonies now is land, and they can also develop north and west.

Therefore, although the Serengeti is not small in area, its impact on the East African colonies is very limited.