<P> On the Great Plains, very few single men attempted to operate a farm or ranch; farmers clearly understood the need for a hard - working wife, and numerous children, to handle the many chores, including child - rearing, feeding and clothing the family, managing the housework, feeding the hired hands, and, especially after the 1930s, handling the paperwork and financial details . During the early years of settlement in the late 19th century, farm women played an integral role in assuring family survival by working outdoors . After a generation or so, women increasingly left the fields, thus redefining their roles within the family . New conveniences such as sewing and washing machines encouraged women to turn to domestic roles . The scientific housekeeping movement, promoted across the land by the media and government extension agents, as well as county fairs which featured achievements in home cookery and canning, advice columns for women in the farm papers, and home economics courses in the schools . </P> <P> Although the eastern image of farm life on the prairies emphasizes the isolation of the lonely farmer and farm life, in reality rural folk created a rich social life for themselves . They often sponsored activities that combined work, food, and entertainment such as barn raisings, corn huskings, quilting bees, Grange meeting, church activities, and school functions . The womenfolk organized shared meals and potluck events, as well as extended visits between families . </P> <P> Much of the Great Plains became open range, hosting cattle ranching operations on public land without charge . In the spring and fall, ranchers held roundups where their cowboys branded new calves, treated animals and sorted the cattle for sale . Such ranching began in Texas and gradually moved northward . Cowboys drove Texas cattle north to railroad lines in the cities of Dodge City, Kansas and Ogallala, Nebraska; from there, cattle were shipped eastward . British investors financed many great ranches of the era . Overstocking of the range and the terrible Winter of 1886--87 resulted in a disaster, with many cattle starved and frozen to death . From then on, ranchers generally raised feed to ensure they could keep their cattle alive over winter . </P> <P> When there was too little rain for ordinary farming, but enough grass for grazing, cattle ranching became dominant . Before the railroads arrived in Texas the 1870s cattle drives took large herds from Texas to the railheads in Kansas . A few thousand Indians resisted, notably the Sioux, who were reluctant to settle on reservations . However, most Indians themselves became ranch hands and cowboys . New varieties of wheat flourished in the arid parts of the Great Plains, opening much of the Dakotas, Montana, western Kansas, western Nebraska and eastern Colorado . Where it was too dry for wheat, the settlers turned to cattle ranching . </P>

What was not on the staple crops of the southern colonies