Cow dung
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Cow dung (or cow pie, cow pat, cow patty, pasture patty, meadow muffin, or cow chip) is a colloquialism used for the feces of the bovine species. The species includes the cow, buffalo, ox and bullock. The term cow pat is used in England. It originates from the sound made as the feces drops to the ground. The term "cow chip" refers to dried cow pies. It usually appears in a rounded pile.
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[edit] Uses
Cow dung is used as manure in many parts of the developing world especially India where it is known as gobar. Cow dung is basically the rejects of herbivorous matter which is acted upon by symbiotic bacteria residing within the animal's rumen. The resultant faecal matter is a rich in minerals. Colour ranges from greenish to blackish. In due course of time, the resulting matter turns yellow due to chemical changes caused by sunlight.
Cow dung is used primarily as a fertilizer. In recent times, the dung is collected and used as biogas which is used to generate electricity and heat. The gas is a rich source of methane and is used in rural areas of India to provide a renewable, stable and environment friendly source of electricity. Caked Cow dung is also used as a fuel to cook food in many parts of Asia and Africa.
Cow dung is also used to line the flooring and walls owing to its insect repellent properties. In cold places, cow dung is used to line the walls of rustic houses as it proves to be a superior and cheap insulator. Cow dung has an excellent mosquito repellent property and is used by many companies to produce repellents. It was also used extensively on Indian Railways to seal smokeboxes on steam locomotives.
Readers in cold or temperate countries should note that in hot dry countries such as India cow dung dries hard like cement and does not remain a wet smelly mess.
[edit] In popular culture
The term cow pie has lent itself to a variety of activities, sometimes not related to cow feces:
- "Cow Pie" is a dessert with marangue, real whipped cream and custard. [citation needed]
- Cowpie poker is a stud poker variant. The name of the game is a pun on Pai Gow.
- Bovine bingo is sometimes called "cowpie bingo."
- Cow pie tossing events have been held in a few locales, though it is quite thoroughly dried first. [citation needed]
- The comedy/folk song "Margo's Cargo", by Stompin' Tom Connors, details the quest to find the makers of the "Cowsie Dungsie Clock", a novelty clock made from a plastic coated cowpie. Such a clock is actually available (see link).
- It is also the food preferred by cartoon hero Desperate Dan in The Dandy comic, though in the strip, 'it is not feces', but a type of enormous meat pie with horns sticking out. It is assumed to contain the meat from an entire cow. [citation needed]
[edit] See also
- Buffalo chip - same basic idea, but from a buffalo instead of a cow.
- Manure
- Energy density - comparison as fuel
[edit] External links
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