Animal Friends and Helpers [ 159 



GOOD HEARERS AND SMELLERS 



Cattle have a keen sense of hearing, benefiting from the 

 fact that they can turn their ears in any direction. Their sense 

 of smell is also excellent: The moist, sensitive nose is equally well 

 adapted for picking up the scent of an enemy or deciding if food 

 is properly edible. 



TAIL-SWITCHING 



As the cow is such an emphatic tail switcher, an observer 

 might read into the action those meanings which apply to the 

 tail movements of a dog or cat. However, the tail has nothing to 

 do with a cow's emotions; it is an efficient fly-brush and swatter, 

 and without it a cow would be miserably at the mercy of these 

 ubiquitous insects. 



Goats They Don't Eat Cans 



Children are usually amused as well as impressed by the fact 

 that goats will eat anything, but one young girl I know was more 

 impressed than amused. Lying on the grass reading one fine after- 

 noon, she was so absorbed in her story that she paid no attention 

 to a gentle tugging at her braided hair. Suddenly she realized that 

 a goat was thoughtfully chewing one of the braids! 



This seemingly fantastic willingness to "try anything once" in 

 the way of food begins to make more sense when a child realizes 

 that in the wild state goats must subsist on the most meager re- 

 sources. As moss, lichens, and bits of vegetation are the best fare 

 tc be found high on the rocky mountain slopes where goats live, 

 it is hardly surprising that they are not very "choosy" about what 

 they introduce to their digestive systems. There is a popular 

 fallacy that goats eat tin cans. What they really enjoy eating is 

 the glue from the paper labels on the cans. 



GOATS ARE USEFUL ANIMALS 



By means of selective breeding, man has developed goats 

 to serve him in more ways than one. He uses the Angora and 

 Cashmere for their hair, which is woven into very fine fabrics. 

 Another type, the short-hair goat, yields a good meat supply, and 

 still another group is valued for its milk. 



