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Glossary of Terms (as used in the lessons) C is for . . . |
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| caballero | A Spanish gentleman skilled in riding and managing horses, precursors of American cowboys. |
| cacao |
An evergreen tropical
American tree the seeds of which are used in making chocolate, cocoa,
and cocoa butter. Also called cacao bean, cocoa bean.
|
| calcium | A metallic element which is one of the basic components of bone, shells and leaves. |
| calcium carbonate | A compound which gives strength and shape commonly found in eggshells and chalk. |
| calf | The young of the bovine family. |
| calf crop | The total number of calves born in a calving season to cattle belonging to a particular cattle producer. |
| calories |
The heat necessary to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water from 14.5 degrees to 15.5 degrees Celsius. |
| calving time | Time of year when calves are born. |
| calyx | The outer, usually green, leaf-like part of a flower. |
| candling | To examine an egg in front of a light to check for freshness or to check the development of the baby bird. |
| cantaloupe | A variety of melon having fruit with a ribbed, rough rind and aromatic orange flesh. |
| capital | Any form of material wealth available for use in the production of more wealth. |
| carbohydrates | Any of a group of organic compounds that includes sugars, starches, cellulose, and gums and serves as a major energy source in the diet of animals. These compounds are produced by photosynthetic plants and contain only carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. |
| carbon | A naturally abundant non-metallic element that occurs in many inorganic and in all organic compounds. |
| carbon cycle | The process by which carbon is taken in by living organisms, used to form nutrients and eventually given off by the organism. |
| carbon dioxide | A colorless, odorless, incombustible gas formed during respiration, combustion and organic decomposition. |
| carcass | Animal after the hide, head, hooves and internal organs are removed to make it ready for butchering. |
| carrot | A widely cultivated plant having finely divided leaves, flat clusters of small white flowers and an edible, yellow-orange root. |
| cartilage | A tough, elastic, fibrous connective tissue found in various parts of the body, such as the joints, outer ear, and larynx. A major constituent of the embryonic and young vertebrate skeleton, it is converted largely to bone with maturation. |
| cashmere | Fine, downy wool growing beneath the outer hair of the Cashmere goat that can be spun into a soft fabric. |
| castration | The surgical process of removing a bull's testicles at a young age. |
| catastrophe | A great, often sudden calamity. |
| catch pens | Small pens where animals can be examined and treated for sickness. |
| cattalo | Live animals held as property or raised for some use, usually mature bovine animals, such as cows, bulls and steers. |
| cattle cubes | Feed, usually provided in winter, to give cattle extra nutrients they cannot get from grazing dead grass. |
| cattle drive | Moving cattle on foot from one place to another. |
| cattle rustler | A person who steals cattle. |
| cattle trail | One of several routes on which cattle were driven for long distances in the US in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. |
| celery seed | The seed of a plant native to Eurasia used as a seasoning and suitable for sprouting. |
| cell | A small enclosed cavity or space, such as a compartment in a honeycomb; The smallest structural unit of an organic structure, plant or animal. |
| cellulose | An inert, complex, carbohydrate which makes up the bulk of the cell walls in plants. |
| cereal | An edible grain, such as wheat, oats or corn. |
| certified seed | Seeds approved by a certifying agency based on standards designed to maintain a satisfactory level of genetic identity and purity. |
| cession | The transfer of land or other property from one person to another. |
| chaff | The husks or grains and grasses separated from the seed by thrashing. |
| characteristics | Features that helps to identify, tell apart, or describe something. |
| cheatgrass | An annual grass weed, palatable in the early stages of growth, that is a pest to the forage fields of the Midwest. |
| chemical fertilizers | Any of a large number of synthetic materials, including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium compounds, spread on or worked into soil to increase its fertility. |
| chick | A young chicken. |
| chick mash | A dry food which supplies all the needed protein and vitamins for the development of a healthy chick. |
| chickweed |
A weed pest found throughout the US in cultivated fields, gardens, lawns, and ornamental shrubs. |
| Chilopoda | The class of arthropods which includes centipedes. |
| chlorophyll | The green coloring in a plant which helps plants make food. |
| chlorine | A highly irritating, greenish-yellow gaseous halogen, widely used in purifying water, as a disinfectant and as a bleaching agent. |
| cholesterol | A substance found in animal tissue and various foods that is normally synthesized by the liver and is important as a constituent of cell membranes. Its level in the bloodstream can influence the pathogenesis of certain conditions, such as the development of atherosclerotic plaque and coronary artery disease. |
| chop | A cut of meat, usually taken from the rib, shoulder or loin, and containing bone. |
| chromosome | A threadlike linear strand of DNA and associated proteins in the nucleus of animal and plant cells that carries the genes and functions in the transmission of hereditary information. |
| Civilian Conservation Corps | A government program established in 1933 to combat unemployment during the Depression of the 1930s. Unemployed, unmarried young men were enlisted to work on conservation and resource-development projects such as soil conservation, flood control, and protection of forests and wildlife. Enrollees were provided with food, lodging, and other necessities, and were given a small monthly salary. The CCC was abolished in 1942. |
| clavicle |
A bone that links the sternum and the scapula - the wishbone in fowl. |
| clay | A fine-grained, firm soil widely used in making bricks, tiles and pottery. |
| climate | The meteorological conditions, including temperature, precipitation and wind, that characteristically prevail in a particular geographic area. |
| clover | A common leguminous plant valuable as forage for livestock. |
| cluster | A group of something. |
| cockeral | A young rooster. |
| collateral | Property acceptable as security for a loan. |
| colony | A group of the same kind of animals, plants or one-celled organisms living or growing together. |
| comb | The fleshy crest or ridge that grows on the crown of the head of domestic fowl and other birds and is most prominent in the male. |
| combine | A power-operated harvesting machine that cuts, thrashes and cleans grain. |
| combustion | Burning. |
| commemorate | To honor the memory of someone or something. |
| commerce | The buying and selling of commodities on a large scale involving transportation from place to place. |
| commercial | Of, relating to, or being goods, often unrefined, produced and distributed in large quantities for use by industry. |
| commodity | An article of trade or commerce, especially an agricultural or mining product that can be processed and resold. |
| communal | Of, belonging to, or shared by the people of a community; public. |
| compost | A mixture of decaying organic matter, such as leaves and manure, used as fertilizer. |
| congeal | To solidify |
| consciousness | The state or condition of being aware of oneÍs own existence, sensations and thoughts and of one's environment. |
| conservation | The protection, preservation, management, or restoration of wildlife and of natural resources such as forests, soil, and water. |
| consumer | Someone who acquires goods or services. |
| contaminate | To make impure by contact or mixture with harmful bacteria, fungi, or dangerous chemicals. |
| contour | Following the contour lines of uneven terrain to limit erosion of topsoil. |
| conveyor belt | A mechanical device used in machines to move objects from one place to another. |
| cooperative | An enterprise owned jointly by those who use its facilities or services. |
| Cooperative States Research Education and Extension Service (CREES) | Formerly the Cooperative States Extension Service, an agency of the US Department of Agriculture established in 1914 to apply the results of agricultural research done in US land-grant colleges. Operating through state and county extension agents, it helps US farmers to learn and use new agricultural techniques. In addition, home-demonstration agents supply information and advice on farm economics and financing, food-safety and nutrition, gardening and a wide variety of practical topics. |
| corn | Any of several varieties of a tall, widely cultivated cereal plant bearing seeds or kernels suitable for eating on large ears. |
| cotton | Any of a variety of plants or shrubs cultivated in warm climates for the soft, white, downy fiber surrounding the seeds, used in making textiles and other products. |
| cotton bale | Bound package of compressed cotton lint averaging 500 pounds. |
| cotton boll | The rounded seed pod or capsule of the cotton plant. |
| cotton gin | A machine that separates the seeds, seed hulls and other small objects from cotton fibers. |
| cotton lint | The mass of soft fibers surrounding the seeds of unginned cotton. |
| cotyledon | The first, or one of the first, leaves of a plant embryo to appear from a sprouting seed. |
| county agricultural agent | Government agent responsible at the local level for sharing current agricultural information drawn from agricultural research schools. |
| cow | The mature female of any bovine animal. |
| cowboy | A hired man, especially in the western United States, who tends cattle and performs many of his duties on horseback. |
| cow chip | A fragment of dried cow dung, sometimes used as fuel. |
| crabgrass | Any of various coarse grasses that tend to spread and displace other grasses in lawns. |
| creditor | One to whom money is owed. |
| Creek | A Native American people formerly inhabiting eastern Alabama, southwest Georgia and northwest Florida and now located in central Oklahoma and southern Alabama. |
| crest | The enlarging of the shoulders and neck on male cattle. The size shows the age of the animal. |
| crops | Cultivated plants or agricultural produce, such as grain, vegetables, or fruit, considered as a group. |
| crop rotation | A method of maintaining and renewing the fertility of the soil by alternating the crops grown on one piece of land from one year to the next. |
| crossbred animals | Offspring of animals from at least two different breeds. |
| cross-pollinate | Transfer pollen between two separate plants. |
| crown | The upper parts of a tree, including the leaves and living branches; Strawberry plant purchased for planting. |
| Crustacea | Any of various predominantly aquatic arthropods, including lobster, crabs, shrimps, barnacles and crawdads, characteristically having a segmented body, a semitransparent, horny exoskeleton and paired jointed limbs. |
| cud | Food regurgitated from the first stomach to the mouth of a ruminant animal and chewed again. |
| cultivation | The planting, tending, harvesting, and improving of plants. |
| culture | The socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and other products of human work and thought of a particular group of people. |
| current market price | The price at which a product can be bought and sold in a certain place at a certain time. |
| cut | A part severed from the main body, as in a cut of meat. |
| cycle | A time interval in which a regularly repeated event or sequence of events occurs. |
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