Cattle

Believe it or not, the world's largest known hairball isn't on display in one of the offbeat Ripley's Believe It or Not! museums scattered across the United States.No, the biggest organically generated fur ball in the world probably resides in Garden City, Kan.Squatting like a gray, oversized, felt-covered bowling ball, the Finney County Historical Society Museum's contender rather easily overshadows the winner of Ripley's recent search for the world champion hairball.Removed from the stomach of a cow slaughtered at the IBP beef-processing plant in Holcomb, the Finney museum's hairball measures 37 inches around.

THE DESTRUCTION of confidence in its beef is a tragedy for Britain. The European Union is attempting to impose a world ban on exports of British beef products ranging from beef to cheese to cosmetics. The Irish government is patrolling the border to prevent cattle smuggling.Britain's $6 billion beef industry, the herd of 11 million cattle, the land that raises feed and the farmers who care for them are endangered. So are the government of Prime Minister John Major, accused anew of indecision, and the British place in Europe.

A neighborhood free of drugs, alcoholism and violence. Children who respect, love and obey their parents. While this may seem a fantasy, that's what Mpeti "Tom" Ole Surum told Stevens Forest Elementary school students they would find in his homeland.Mr. Surum, a Masai warrior from Kenya, brought his message of total respect for parents and elders to the school last Monday as part of the school's cultural arts program."Drugs and violence are so much a part of life in the United States," Mr. Surum said.

COALINGA, CALIF.-- Some ranchers think a fat, black, sway-backed breed of Japanese cattle may do for the U.S. cattle industry what the American silicon chip has done for the Japanese computer industry."

More than 100,000 visitors will attend the Howard County Fair in West Freindship, which ends Saturday. They'll view prize cattle, pigs and lambs, stroll the midway and visit the many exhibition booths.Pub Date: 8/14/97

Spencer Zimmerman Jr., 97, attorney for IRSSpencer Zimmerman Jr., a retired attorney for the Internal Revenue Service, died July 9 of complications of Alzheimer's disease at Edenwald retirement community in Towson. He was 97.Born in Frederick, Mr. Zimmerman lived in Chevy Chase for many years before moving to Towson in 1985.After serving in the Army during World War I, he went to work in the chief council's office of the IRS, beginning a 45-year career. He held degrees in law and accounting from Northeastern University in Boston.

"THE TWELVE Months of Whitewater":In the first month of Whitewater, my true love gave to me a small piece of land in Arkansas.In the second month of Whitewater, my true love gave to me two shredded law briefs, and a small piece of land in Arkansas.In the third month of Whitewater, my true love gave to me three federal judges, two shredded law briefs, and a small piece of land in Arkansas.In the fourth month of Whitewater, my true love gave to me four cattle futures, three federal judges, two shredded law briefs, and a small piece of land in Arkansas.

Hagerstown -- When I saw the cows, I relaxed. For me the sighting was proof that I had cleared the city and was traveling in the land where the cattle, not the Miatas, roam.Somewhere between Frederick and Hagerstown, on the north side of Interstate 70, I saw the cows, a barn, grass and dirt. The sight of cows feeding gave me a liberating feeling that comes from being "in the country."I felt even better a short while later when, as one of three judges for the Maryland Beef Cook-Off, I sat in the Hagerstown Sheraton Inn and feasted on the beef dishes competing for the title of best in the state.

Kobe beef is showing up on fancy restaurant menus all over the country. Chefs love it. Ask Thomas Keller of the French Laundry, Wolfgang Puck of Spago and the Iron Chef himself, Morimoto of Morimoto's in Philadelphia. It is even available in high-end supermarkets. Should you order a steak dinner or buy steaks to grill at home, be prepared for a treat - but also be prepared for sticker shock. Kobe beef is very expensive. Why? Kobe beef is a legendary delicacy in Japan. It's a type of beef with so much white-fat marbling that it rivals foie gras for richness.

Five Baltimore County farmers are experimenting to see if they can make a better cow.Twelve cows have been trucked to Richard Price's 350-acre farm in Stockton to see if fattening them up with a special diet will produce the grade of high-quality beef that fetches top dollar and ends up in restaurants in New York and dinner tables in Japan.In the face of warnings from health experts about the ill effects of eating too much red meat, the U.S. cattle industry has been in a slump in recent years, Mr. Price said.