Rural School Leaflet 953 



COWS 



E. S. Savage 



The cattle-bearing sections of the United States. — 

 There are in the United States about fifteen millions 

 of cows, both beef and dairy. The question 

 naturally arises, in what States are they found? 

 There are some cows in every State; but there are 

 six States in the Union which deserve the title 

 " The Six Great Dairy States," and five States 

 which deserve the title " The Five Great Beef 

 States." The great agricultural State of Iowa is found in both these 

 lists, therefore it has the title " The Greatest Stock-Growing State." 

 Texas, also, is found in both lists, but it does not stand so high as 

 Iowa because of the vastness of its area. 



Our own State of New York is the greatest dairy State in the Union, 

 with 1,589,594 cows; Wisconsin has 1,437,505; Iowa, 1,406,792; Minne- 

 sota, 1,085,388; Illinois, 1,050,223; and Texas, 1,013,867. No other 

 State has more than 1,000,000 dairy cows. 



In numbers of beef cattle, Texas outranks the others by far, having 

 2,469,321 beef cattle. It must be remembered that the area of Texas 

 is vast. Nebraska has 705,191 beef cattle; Iowa, 614,930; Kansas, 558,153; 

 and Montana, 372,798. No other State in the Union has more than 

 200,000 beef cattle. Thus it is seen that, in this country, cattle are raised in 

 largest numbers in the northern tier of States and in the Mississippi Valley. 

 Elgin, Illinois, is the greatest butter-market in the United States and 

 the Elgin Board of Trade governs the price of butter in the Middle West. 

 New York City is the greatest milk-consuming city in the United States. 

 Chicago is the greatest market for beef cattle. Other great beef markets 

 are Kansas City, St. Louis, and St. Joseph. Buffalo has a large beef- 

 cattle market. Of course all the larger cities are great markets for raw 

 milk and for beef in retail form. 



Care of the dairy cow. — All cows deserve better treatment than they 

 receive. They are entitled to the best of treatment, for they give us 

 milk, butter, and cream while they live, and even when they die they 

 give us shoes and robes and coats to keep us warm. Beef, the meat that 

 they yield, is an important article of food. 



A good cow is entitled to six things from her master: (1) Kindness; 

 (2) a clean, dry home; (3) plenty of light; (4) pure air; (5) pure water; 

 and (6) an abundance of salt. Every caretaker of cows should see that 

 these conditions are met, as well as see that his cow has plenty to eat. 



Every animal in a well-managed dairy herd will be so tame that the 

 owner and attendants can easily catch her in the open lot at any time. 



