Cash received on early termination of interest rate swap.

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Debt and Financing Arrangements Textuals.

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Line of credit facility weighted average interest rate.

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Number of banks.

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Required first periodic payment on percent Senior Notes.

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The stated principal amount of the debt instrument at time of issuance, which may vary from the carrying amount because of unamortized premium or discount.

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Interest rate stated in the contractual debt agreement.

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-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

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Description of the maturity date of the debt instrument including whether the debt matures serially and, if so, a brief description of the serial maturities.

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This element represents the income received from or payment made to a third party in connection with the termination of a contract between the parties. The termination may be due to many causes including early termination of a lease by a lessee, a breach of contract by one or the other party, a failure to perform.

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Amount of unrealized gain (loss) related to the fair value of interest rate derivatives designated as fair value hedging instruments. Recognized in earnings and offsets the gain (loss) on the hedged item to the extent that the fair value hedge is determined to be effective.

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The amount of cash paid during the current period for interest owed on money borrowed; includes amount of interest capitalized

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-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

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Amount borrowed under the credit facility as of the balance-sheet date.

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Increase for additional borrowings on the credit facility during the period.

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Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

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Maximum borrowing capacity under the credit facility without consideration of any current restrictions on the amount that could be borrowed or the amounts currently outstanding under the facility.

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-Publisher FASB

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Including current and noncurrent portions, aggregate carrying amount of long-term borrowings as of the balance sheet date. May include notes payable, bonds payable, commercial loans, mortgage loans, convertible debt, subordinated debt and other types of debt, which had initial maturities beyond one year or beyond the normal operating cycle, if longer, and after deducting unamortized discount or premiums, if any.

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Total of the portions of the carrying amounts as of the balance sheet date of long-term debt, which may include notes payable, bonds payable, debentures, mortgage loans, and commercial paper, which are scheduled to be repaid within one year or the normal operating cycle, if longer, and after deducting unamortized discount or premiums, if any.

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Sum of the carrying values as of the balance sheet date of all long-term debt, which is debt initially having maturities due after one year from the balance sheet date or beyond the operating cycle, if longer, but excluding the portions thereof scheduled to be repaid within one year (current maturities) or the normal operating cycle, if longer, and after deducting unamortized discount or premiums, if any.

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Aggregate notional amount of all derivatives. The notional amount relates to a number of currency units, shares, bushels, pounds, or other units specified in a derivative instrument.

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The cash outflow for debt initially having maturity due after one year or beyond the normal operating cycle, if longer.

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Including the current and noncurrent portions, carrying value as of the balance sheet date of Notes with the highest claim on the assets of the issuer in case of bankruptcy or liquidation (with maturities initially due after one year or beyond the operating cycle if longer). Senior note holders are paid off in full before any payments are made to junior note holders.

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Debt and Financing Arrangements (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended			12 Months Ended							12 Months Ended																					12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended
Debt and Financing Arrangements (Details) (USD $)	Oct. 31, 2011	Jul. 31, 2011	Jul. 31, 2010	Apr. 30, 2012	Apr. 30, 2011	Apr. 30, 2010	Apr. 30, 2009	Aug. 31, 2011	Jul. 29, 2011	Jan. 31, 2011	Apr. 30, 2011 7.94% Series C Senior Notes due September 1, 2010 [Member]	Sep. 01, 2010 7.94% Series C Senior Notes due September 1, 2010 [Member]	Apr. 30, 2010 7.94% Series C Senior Notes due September 1, 2010 [Member]	Jul. 31, 2011 4.78% Senior Notes due June 1, 2014 [Member]	Apr. 30, 2011 4.78% Senior Notes due June 1, 2014 [Member]	Apr. 30, 2010 4.78% Senior Notes due June 1, 2014 [Member]	Jul. 31, 2011 6.12% Senior Notes due November 1, 2015 [Member]	Apr. 30, 2011 6.12% Senior Notes due November 1, 2015 [Member]	Apr. 30, 2010 6.12% Senior Notes due November 1, 2015 [Member]	Jul. 31, 2011 6.63% Senior Notes due November 1, 2018 [Member]	Apr. 30, 2011 6.63% Senior Notes due November 1, 2018 [Member]	Apr. 30, 2010 6.63% Senior Notes due November 1, 2018 [Member]	Apr. 01, 2013 5.55% Senior Notes due April 1, 2022 [Member]	Jul. 31, 2011 5.55% Senior Notes due April 1, 2022 [Member]	Apr. 30, 2011 5.55% Senior Notes due April 1, 2022 [Member]	Apr. 30, 2010 5.55% Senior Notes due April 1, 2022 [Member]	Jun. 01, 2020 4.50% Senior Notes due June 1, 2025 [Member]	Jul. 31, 2011 4.50% Senior Notes due June 1, 2025 [Member]	Apr. 30, 2011 4.50% Senior Notes due June 1, 2025 [Member]	Jun. 15, 2010 4.50% Senior Notes due June 1, 2025 [Member]	Apr. 30, 2010 4.50% Senior Notes due June 1, 2025 [Member]	Apr. 30, 2011 Unsecured Senior Notes [Member]	Apr. 30, 2011 Standby Letters of Credit [Member]	Jan. 31, 2011 Group of six lenders [Member]	Jan. 31, 2011 Amounts Maturing during the Year [Member]	Apr. 30, 2011 Interest rate contract [Member]	Jul. 31, 2011 Interest rate contract [Member]	Apr. 30, 2010 Interest rate contract [Member]
Long-term debt
Company issued Senior Notes											$ 0		$ 10,000,000	$ 100,000,000	$ 100,000,000	$ 100,000,000	$ 24,000,000	$ 24,000,000	$ 24,000,000	$ 394,489,000	$ 380,039,000	$ 376,000,000		$ 400,000,000	$ 400,000,000	$ 400,000,000		$ 400,000,000	$ 400,000,000		$ 0
Total long-term debt		1,318,489,000			1,304,039,000	910,000,000
Current portion of long-term debt					0	10,000,000
Total long-term debt less current portion		1,318,489,000			1,304,039,000	900,000,000
Debt and Financing Arrangements (Textuals)
Percentage of senior notes					6.60%							7.94%		4.78%	4.78%		6.12%	6.12%		6.63%	6.63%			5.55%	5.55%			4.50%	4.50%	4.50%
Issued 4.50 percent senior notes with a final maturity on June1, 2025																														400,000,000
First period payment of Senior Notes																							50,000,000				100,000,000
Average maturity of Senior Notes																																12 years
Payment of Senior Notes		0	0		10,000,000	275,000,000	0				10,000,000
Outstanding stand By Letter of credit		306,700,000			0			480,000,000																									7,100,000
Revolving credit facility for general corporate purposes utilized				240,000,000
Interest Paid					62,075,000	76,461,000	52,918,000
Cash received on early termination of interest rate swap	27,000,000
Gain on early termination agreement	24,200,000
Revolving credit facility at weighted average interest rate		1.52%						1.42%
Number of banks									10
Line of Credit Facility (Textuals) [Line Items]
Unsecured revolving credit facility with banks									1,000,000,000	600,000,000																								600,000,000	180,000,000
Notional amount		376,000,000																																		376,000,000	376,000,000	0
Interest rate swap		$ 18,500,000			$ 4,000,000																															$ 4,000,000