The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1877-11-29
The Agricultural Value of Worms.

In 1887 Mr.. Darwin, in q paper read
before the British Geological society, cx-
planned how the formation of vegetable
mold which forms a covering several
inches in depth on the surface of pro-
ductive land was directly due to the
common earth worm. The soil, he
stated, was simply the non-nutritious
matter contained in the earth originally
eaten by the worm and rejected by it,
and the accumulated deposits of large
numbers Of worms produced the ex-
tensive layers commonly found. Quite
recently Herr Won Hensen has investi-
gated further into this subject, and has
confirmed Darwin's conclusion's while
supplementing with many of his own.
An abstract Of his investigations appears
in the Nineteenth Century.
He stated that the adult worms come
to the surface at night and, with their
tails in their burrows, collect the twigs,
leaves, etc., which serve as their food.
This material is heaped around the orr
flee Of the burrow and is drawn in piece
by piece, the leaves in time becoming
macerated and decomposed, and thus
rendered suitable for the worms eating.
The investigations were conducted in a
garden having layer of mold nine
inches deep and subsoil of yellow
diluyial sand. The worm tubes were
not easily traced in the mold, but were
perfectly clear in the sand, running
vertically downward to depth of from
three to six feet. On the walls of these
burrows the black masses of excrement
of the worms were plainly visible. Some
tubes were entirely filed with this sub
stance, the black color of which was diff
fused into the adjacent soil. In about
half the inhabited tubes, plant roots
had entered, following their course. By
extended observations the author states
that the roots of ANIMALS can only pene-
trate into the subsoil through channels
opened out to them by earth worms, and
he observes that this penetration must
be of service to the plant, as the subsoil
retains moisture longer than the surface
layer of the mold.
In order to ascertain the precise part
taken by the worm in making this vPge-
table mold, two worms were placed in q
glass vessel filled with sand, ON the sur
face of which was spread layer of fallen
leaves. The worms set to work at once,
and after about six weeks the surface of
the sand was found to be covered with a
layer of mold nearly half and inch deep,
while many leaves had been carried to
depth of three inches. Worm tubes
ran in all directions through the sand !;
some were quite fresh, Others had a wall
of mold an eighth of an inch thick,
others again were completely filled with
mold. In short, the soil of the vessel
was already perfectly well prepared for
the growth of plants.
Herr Won Henson finds that, although
the earn worm weighs only about forty
six grains, it produces in four hours
nearly eight grains of excrementitious
matter. On an average he finds about
81 900 worms to an acre of ground.
Their combined weight is therefore over
two hundred and twenty pounds, and
they produce about thirty-seven pounds
of mold in twenty-four hours. Besides
this, they produce a uniform distribu-
ton of the mold, open up passages in
the subsoil for roots and render the sub
soil fertile.