Oh Cow, Poor Cow
PBS is well-known for its educational programming for children (Curious George, Arthur, Word Girl, etc.) and adults (Nova, Nature, Masterpiece Theatre, etc.). I include Masterpiece in that list as of last night. The current series–a sweet, sometimes saccharine adaptation of James Herriot’s All Creatures Great and Small–contains many instances of animal husbandry and veterinary care. In the latest episode (January 23), we learned about stirks, a term describing cows, and husk, the sometimes fatal condition (at least back then) that can afflict them.
When I heard Dr. Herriot describe a local woman’s cattle as “stirks,” I thought it must be a type of cow much like a longhorn, or guernsey. I was wrong. Here’s what WikiDiff (a website I didn’t even know existed until this moment) has to say about the word:
As nouns the difference between cow and stirk is that cow is a female domesticated ox or other bovine, especially an adult after she has had a calf, while stirk is (UK/Scotland/dialect/dated [a ha!]) a yearling cow; a bullock or heifer.
More specifically (and confusingly), Merriam-Webster tells us that a stirk is a “young bull or [emphasis mine] cow, especially when more than one but less than two years old.” (As a fascinating I’m sure aside, stirk is also a British term for “fool” and a surname of Norse origin.)
Moving on, husk is a malicious malady also known as verminous or parasitic bronchitis caused by a roundworm called Dictyocaulus viviparus. I could post a picture here of those lovely creatures but I’ll spare you (and myself) that nightmare image. The larvae of these parasites crawl up from their birthplace to the tips of leaves of grass in fields and wait to be eaten. From there, they invade the bronchial tubes of the cattle and bad things progress.
The ACGS episode where all of this transpires ends (SPOILER ALERT!) romantically with Dr. James sitting on a roof with his girlfriend Helen and (finally!) kissing her. As we fade out, they stare moonsickingly* off into green pastures free, we hope, of viviparus or any other of the things nature has invented to torment humans, animals, and plants.
Well, all of this is intriguing and I’ve learned much (thanks, Masterpiece!). But I can’t say it’s been an uplifting experience. It’s time now to close my eyes and hum the refrain from Monty Python’s “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” a few million times. Care to join me?
*i.e., with an expression of lovesick mooning
Published originally on RatBlurt™, January 25, 2022.
(Image: An idealized depiction of girl cow herders in 19th-century Norway by Knud Bergslien. Public domain.)
