prairie, prary

[Fr. prairie, from Low Lat. prataria =meadow land, from Lat. pratum = a meadow; Sp. & Port. praderia; Ital. prater i a.] 1. The name given by the early French settlers in America to extensive tracts of land, either level or rolling, destitute of trees, and covered with coarse tall gra , interspersed with numerous varieties of flowering plants. "Both have gone to the prairies." Long fellow: Evangeline, ii. 1. 2. A natural meadow or piece of gra land. prairie-bitters, s. A beverage common among the hunters or mountaineers of Western America. It was made of a pint of water and a quarter of a gill of buffalo gall, and was considered an excellent medicine. prairie-chicken, s. [PINNATED-GROUSE.) prairie-dog, s. Zool .: A name given to either of the two species of Cynomys, but especially to C. ludo vic i an us , from the fancied resemblance of its cry to the bark of a small dog, whence it has been also called the Barking Squirrel. It is about a foot long, reddish-brown above, lighter beneath. Its habits are eminently social; it forms large communities on the prairies, each burrow having a little hillock at its entrance, and excavated pa ages connect the burrows, which are sometimes shared by the Burrowing Owl ( Athene cunicularia ). The rattlesnake occasionally occupies a deserted burrow, and preys largely on the prairie-dog. IMG:content-1432.jpg:[graphic] Prairie-dog.