The cow was the most versatile animal on a farm. The cow was kind of like the buffalo to the Plains Indians in that the cow provided so much to the farmer.

To be precise, cows are just the females, and the males are called bulls. But over the years the word cows has become interchangeable with cattle. Curiously, the word "cowboy" probably came from the Spanish word "caballo," pronounced "cub-eye-o." But "caballo" means "horse" in Spanish. What is a baby cow called? Calf Mainly the bulls were used for the hard physical labor on the farm, such as the plowing, or pulling tree stumps out of the ground. Cattle were also used to pull carts and covered wagons, or to carry packs on their backs when the farmer had to move. Many an immigrant brought a bull and a cow with them from from their native country to start their own farm here in America. As a result, we have a great variety of breeds and crossbreeds of cattle today. Cattle are a good source of meat, but just as important is that their skin provided the leather for the boots, chaps, gloves, belts and even the horses' saddles. And that was just the beginning. An enterprising farmer carpenter would use the stiff leather as hinges for his front door and the water plug for his well, not to mention the hundreds of other tasks that needed a flexible connection to make them work.

Of course, cows also provide milk, a basic staple of high protein in drink and cheese. Today entire herds are set aside just as dairy farms, with Wisconsin leading the way in the USA in milk and cheese production.

Where did the Brahma Bulls, so popular at rodeos, come from? India As you can imagine, Texas produces more cattle for meat that any other state, followed by Iowa. Only India and Russia have more cattle than the USA, but the cattle of India are generally undernourished, and rather than use them for food and leather, the Indians revere them as sacred. Many of the cattle brought across the oceans didn't do well. Of course, the Brahmans did well in hot climates, because they came from India, which is quite hot. But most of the other cattle came from the more temperate climates of Europe, and the scrub grasses of the southwestern plains did not provide enough nourishment to keep them healthy. The longhorn cattle already wild in Texas, however, had adapted quite well to the sparse pickings, and became a major breed during the cowboy era, until fading away in the early 1900s. Cows weigh from about 900 pounds upwards to one ton, while bulls often go well past one ton. Cows have udders in which milk is developed. From the 1950s to the 1970s scientists were able to crossbreed cattle to increase milk production by more than double, so that a cow now produces between three and four gallons of milk per day. Why are these cattle so shaggy haired? They have adapted to live in cold climates. It was common to see cattle grazing on every hillside in rural America just fifty years ago, but that scene is becoming an ever rarer sight. Today, cattle production is primarily done in huge confinement areas, and the feed is brought in to the cattle, rather than letting the cattle go to where the food is. Return to the Barn. Outstanding Kids' Magazines ↓  For Your Favorite Little Animal Lover  ↓ Home Animal Research Library About AmericaZoo Lesley Fountain  ♦  P. O. Box 215, Fortuna, CA 95540  ♦  Voicemail 1-214-292-9404 email-us @ americazoo.com