Creuse is still the safest place to live in France - The Bugle

FEBRUARY 2010 ○ THE BUGLE ○ www.thebugle.eu
12 ♦ FEATURE
The world famous Limo
The history of the Limousin
cow may be as old as
Europe itself. Images
of cattle on the walls of
the Lascaux caves near
Montignac dating back 20,000 years
show a remarkable resemblance to
today’s Limousin cows.
they would be marched to Paris or
Toulouse, a journey of some 14 days.
Back then, a Limousin cow would
The use of natural selection methods
required that bloodlines were closely
Lascaux cave paintings
Recognisable by their distinctive
golden-red colouring, Limousin cows
are famed worldwide for their lean
meat and have been described as the
‘butcher’s animal’ in France.
The landscape of the Limousin is
rugged and rolling, with rocky, acidic
soils, a harsh climate and altitudes
of 1,000 metres. Consequently, in
the past the Limousin was always
a difficult place to grow crops and
emphasis was placed on cattle. As a
result of the environment, the cows
that thrived here developed into
a breed of exceptional health and
sturdiness. French cattle spent much
of their life indoors and the breeders
of the day considered it a point of
pride that the Limousin cows stayed
outdoors most of the year and still
calved year-round, despite the difficult
conditions. The region’s remoteness
and lack of natural resources also
meant that the herds remained isolated
from other breeds and the Limousin
cow’s bloodline remained relatively
pure.
Their reputation as being hardy, strong
animals, as well as producing good
meat, soon spread. In 1698, they
were reported as being “universally
Limousin cows have long been famous
renowned and esteemed both as
beasts of burden and beef cattle”.
Traditionally they would be put to
work and then fattened up at the end
of their working lives for meat, when
Herds of the caramel coloured cows are a common sight across the region
only weigh around 300 kg, compared
to the 600 kg you would expect these
days.
In the 17 th and again in the 18 th
century, attempts were made to cross
the Limousin cow with a larger
breed to create a hybrid animal with
higher meat yield. On both occasions,
larger cows were indeed produced,
but the increase in body mass was
compensated for by an increase in
food demand to such an extent that the
hybrid animals were not as economical
as their smaller, purebred equivalents.
Subsequently, attempts to improve
the breed concentrated on natural
selection methods. The pioneer of
this natural selection movement was
Charles de Leobary and his herdsman,
Royer. They produced a purebred herd
of Limousin cows and, between 1854
and 1896, the de Leobary herd won a
total of 265 ribbons at the prestigious
Bordeaux Competition, one of
France’s finest cattle shows.
monitored and the first Limousin
Herd Book was established in 1886.
Herd books contain information about
every registered animal with regards
to parentage and bloodline and are
used to ensure a breed’s ‘purity’.
Initially 177 males and 497 females
were selected for registration. With
the formation of a herd book came
shows solely for Limousin cows. This
Limousin cows are not the biggest breed, but the bulls are impressive nonetheless
increased exposure for the breed and
enhanced its reputation nationwide.
Today, Limousin cattle display three
important traits within their breed:
excellent feed efficiency, adaptability
and a high carcass yield. The cattle are
good foragers and are very efficient
at converting feed into mass. It is
commonly said that the Limousin
cows are genetically “trimmed”, with
high muscle mass and a low skeleton
weight. The meat is tender and fine
fibered due to the low fat levels,
all of which has contributed to the
Limousin cow becoming nationally
and internationally revered. ■
Did you know... Word origin of ‘Limousine’
The first limousine car, built in 1902, was designed so the driver sat outside under a covered compartment while the
passengers sat inside. The word ‘limousine’ is derived from the name of the region Limousin, because this covered
compartment physically resembled the cloak hood traditionally worn by the shepherds here. An alternate etymology has
the chauffeur wearing a Limousin-style cloak in the open driver’s compartment, for protection from the weather.
Beef cuts in the
French and English butchers do not always joint a beef carcass in the sam
completely different, they will often be cut differently and look unfamilia
in English and French.