Cattle
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Cattle. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
live stock. In its widest sense, the term includes horses, asses, camels, even goats, sheep, and swine. In stockraising, however, it signifies animals, both large and small, of the cow kind. Cattle have been domesticated so long that it is difficult to trace their origin. Some have supposed that they are descended from the wild ox of Central Europe. The goat in mountainous countries, the camel in the desert, the yak in the high altitudes of Asia, the reindeer on the mossy tundras of the north, and the cow on the grassy plains of all countries, each in the country to which it is best suited, furnishes milk, butter, cheese, flesh, leather, and tents for multitudes of people, and has rendered the development of civilization possible. Horses are a luxury. Cattle are a necessity. Our cattle have been imported from western Europe. They were brought first to the New World by Columbus in 1493, and were introduced into Mexico by the Spaniards in 1525. The common cattle of the Gulf States, as far north as Virginia, and the long-horned Texas cattle, are descended from this Spanish stock. Cattle were imported from England into Massachusetts in 1624. Dutch cattle were brought to New York in 1627, and Danish breeds to New Hampshire in 1631. In the early days of the colonies Devons, Herefords, Shorthorns, Polled-Angus, Galloways, and Alderneys were introduced, but no attempt was made to keep the breeds pure. Pure bred Shorthorns were introduced into Kentucky in 1816; the breeding of pure Herefords in this country began in New York in 1840; the introduction of pure Polled-Angus cattle dates from 1870. Dairy farmers have introduced the Jerseys from the Channel Islands . The history of cattle raising may be divided into two branches, that of cattle on farms and cattle on ranges. The management of cattle on an ordinary farm is too well known to require comment. A few cattle are kept according to the amount of pasture and feed available. The steers are raised for beef, and cows are cared for as dairy animals. On the wide, grassy plains of Australia, Argentina, and North America , however, cattle are reared in immense herds. Instead of stables, barns, and winter feeding, the cattle run wild like buffalo or deer. The calves run with the cows. No use whatever is made of the milk, except that a cow or two may be tethered near the rancher's shack for the use of the family. Under this system it is impossible for a rancher to know just how many cattle he owns. An unbranded calf old enough to have separated from its mother is called a maverick, and belongs to any one who wishes to put his brand upon it. Once a year the cattle in a given region are rounded up by riders, and the calves are branded, usually on the hip, by a white-hot iron, with a mark of ownership. They are then released, to run without attention for another year. In the winter season they live on standing grass, which in these regions has the peculiar quality of drying up into excellent hay as it stands. The United States leads the world in cattle raising. Russia comes second with 43,000,000 head. The latest United States agricultural report gives the following as the number of cattle on farms in the United States January 1, 1909: State or Territory. Milch cows. Other cattle. Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179,000 145,000 New Hampshire . . . . . ... 124,000 97,000 Vermont . . . . . . . . . . ... 288,000 214,000 Massachusetts . . . . . ... 194,000 90,000 Rhode Island . . . . . .... 26,000 10,000 Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . 137,000 83,000 New York . . . . . . . . . . .. 1,789,000 898,000 New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . 190,000 82,000 Pennsylvania . . . . . .... 1,152,000 965,000 Delaware . . . . . . . . . . .. 38,000 22,000 Maryland . . . . . . . . . . .. 158,000 141,000 Virginia . . . . . . . . . . .. 294,000 578,000 State or Territory Milch cows. Other cattle. West Virginia . . . . . . . . . . 247,000 538,000 North Carolina . . . . . .... 294,000 454,000 South Carolina . . . . . .... 139,000 225,000 Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311,000 680,000 Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93,000 691,000 Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 947,000 998,000 Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 680,000 1,052,000 Illinois . . . . . . . . . . .... 1,220,000 2,056,000 Michigan . . . . . . . . . . .... 891,000 993,000 Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . . ... 1,462,000 1,114,000 Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . ... 1,092,000 1,253,000 Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1,586,000 3,842,000 Missouri . . . . . . . . . . .... 984,000 2,232,000 North Dakota . . . . . . . . . . 235,000 642,000 South Dakota . . . . . . . . . . 643,000 1,397,000 Nebraska . . . . . . . . . . .... 897,000 3,200,000 Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 744,000 3,505,000 Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . .... 402,000 700,000 Tennessee . . . . . . . . . . ... 334,000 595,000 Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289,000 544,000 Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . . 330,000 595,000 Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . ... 196,000 480,000 Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,126,000 7,668,000 Oklahoma . . . . . . . . . . .... 338,000 1,760,000 Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . .... 388,000 674,000 Montana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75,000 905,000 Wyoming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,000 872,000 Colorado . . . . . . . . . . .... 158,000 1,454,000 New Mexico . . . . . . . . . . .. 28,000 939,000 Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,000 639,000 Utah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 85,000 327,000 Nevada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,000 404,000 Idaho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76,000 347,000 Washington . . . . . . . . . . .. 195,000 381,000 Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169,000 743,000 California . . . . . . . . . . .. 430,000 1,155,000 _____________ ___________ United States . . . . . ...21,720,000 49,379,000 The neat cattle of the world are distributed about as follows: Canada 8,000,000 United States 73,000,000 Mexico 5,000,000 Central America 2,000,000 Cuba 3,000,000 South America 76,000,000 Europe 126,000,000 Asia 112,000,000 Africa 9,500,000 Australia, etc 12,000,000 ______________ Total for the world .428,000,000 See Packing House ; Beef ; Butter ; Milk ; Cold Storage ; Chicago
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a collective term, denoting all animals of the bovine or ox kind. In the United States vast areas of grazing land in the Western States and Territories have been acquired by syndicates for the breeding and rearing of cattle; and with the view of improving the stock of native cattle, large numbers of well-bred bulls of the leading British varieties, either imported from the United Kingdom or descended from imported stock, have been sent to the West for use on ranches. The production of cattle in order to insure an adequate meat supply was one of the most important problems to be solved during the World War. The total amount of cattle in nine important countries of Europe before the war was 65,- 205,000. After the war the total had been reduced to 58,163,000. On the other hand, in the United States before the war there were 56,592,000 cattle and after the war 67,866,000, or an increase of nearly 20 per cent. Increases were also shown in Canada, Argentina, and New Zealand, while there was a loss in Australia. The total number of cattle in the countries named numbered before the war, 102,157,000 and after the war, 118,895,000, or an increase of nearly 16 per cent. There was a total gain in the number of cattle in all countries considered, of 9,096,000 cattle. The condition of cattle in Europe, however, was such that the stocks were not available either for dairy or meat production, on account of the prevailing shortage of food supplies and the widespread prevalence of foot and mouth disease. For consideration of the meat industry in the United States, see PACKING INDUSTRY.