St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1892-12-17
THE HUM Bile EARTHWORM.
CREATURES WHICH PLAY AN IN
PORTANT PART IN NATURE.
How They Make the Earth Fruitful
Their Cucions Hab;ts-5S, TT OF
Them to an Acre of Garden.

| part IN the Nollu, I'LL tue SOIL Oh WulCu
| has been rendered fruitful by being
| passed through their bodies.
Earth worms are distributor through.
out the entire world, being found even
| on the most remote Islands. Although
| land animals they are in a sense semi
acquatic. Whereas exposure to a dry
| air for few hours is fatal to them, they
| have been kept alive in water for several
months. They are nocturnal in tne'
habits, and at night may Ds seen crawl.
ing about IN large numbers, usually with
| their tails inserted in tpcir burrows.
Their bodies are armed with short bris,
ties, by means OF which they cling to
their holes, so that it is difficult to dra,
! them out.
The body of large earth worm con.
sists of from 100 to go rings or SCI
ments, eoch furnished with minute
bri:tles. By means of welI-developed
muscular system the animal can crawl
backward as we'll as forward, and,
when its tail is fixed in the mouth of its
| hole, it can retreat into the latter with
extraordinary rapidi5y. 1t has mouth
| and throa: as we'll as a glzzard, which
| grinds TIC food swallowed. The giz
zard generally contains small stones,
which are supposed to be taken in fo'
tine purpose OF assisting digestion. Ear,i'
worms breathe through their skin, pos
sessing no special organs OF respiration;
| they have no eyes, and the two sexes are
| united in the same indivi1ual.
Although they are entirely blind the,
are sensitive enough to light to be aoio
to distinguish between day and night.
Thus they escape man; dangers winch
would threaten them from dlurual an:
mails that pray upoa th3;n. They do 10.
possess any sense OF hearing. Dr.. DE-
win found that they took not the least
| notice of the shrill notes from a metal
| whistle AMI they were ''indltfsrcat to
shouts" Their sense of smell is very
feeble, but they perceive very well by
| touch. Although their nervous system
is well developed it is doubted whethe,
| they suffer as much pain Wien injured
as they seem to express By their coator-
tons.
LGLlu NptiIS NJ utIuiNOiOl>. lAJh
swallow Quantities Of earth continually,
out OF which they eySrict any di5estibIc
matter which it may contain. They also
consume half dccayei leaves OF all
kinds, except few which have al III
pleasant taste or are too tough. From
such leaves they chiefly obtain their sus-
teuance. They pass the winter season
either singly or rolled W with others
into bail at the bottom of their bur
rows, which during that time of yea;
! are closed at the top. They devote
much of their attention to gathering
leaves, lccayei twigs and small refuse OF
all sorts for the purpose of plugging up
their holes aud to line the upper parts OF
the latter.
There is plenty of organic matter in
ordinary mold for the support Of earth
worms, Including many eg IS and larvs
of insects, as we'll as small living and
dead creatures. There are certain spe
cies found in damp places in the tropic.
which possess trap like b,adders, Ecal.
tifuly constructed for catching minute
subterranean animals. Earth worms
eagerly devour raw meat and dead
worms. Although they usually live near
the surface OF the ground, yet they bur
row to considerable depth during long
continued dry weather and severe cold.
They have been discovered as far down
as eight feet. The burrows run perpen-
dicutally or Il little ojliquely, and are
lined with thin layer of fine, dark COL
ored earth voided by the worms.
The lining thus formed is very com
pact and smooth, closely fitting the
worms body. 1t strengthens the walls
of the burrow, which may be likenea to
a tunnel lined with cement, and saves
the occupants skin from being scratched
Often tao hole terminates in a small en-
largenent or chamber, where one OF
more worms pass the winter. These
chambers are lined VITA little stones and
seeds, to prevent contact with the sur
rounding cold soil. After swallowing
earth, waether Tor making its burroy
or for food, the worm comes to the sur
face to empty its DO ~, thus forming
what are called "caetngs." In the case
of certain giant earth worms OF India
aad Ceylon, SUCH castings are sometimes
four inches or more in height aud seem
to be constructed with considerable
skill.
The earth thus voidei by worms, il
spread out uniformly, would form in
most places in the course Of & year
LAYER onc-ifti of an inch in thickness.
Inasmuch as t,le process is carried on
unccasingly, the mold from below being
/ continually brought to the surface, it Is
a matter of ready calculation how long
it will take for the entire layer of super
fetal soil to be passed through the
worms body. 1t is estimsted that on au
average acre of arabic land more than
ten tons of earth are annually swallowed
by worms and brought to the surface.
The importance Of the work accom-
plished bv them in this fashion cannot
be overestimated. They periodically
exposed the mold to the air, lningling
it like gardner who prepares tiue soil
for his choicest plants, aud sitting it so
that no stones bigger than the PARTICLES
they can swt How are left in it.
Earth worms drag an infinite number
of dead leaves and other parts Of plants
into their burrows. The bones of dead
animals and other more or less decayed
refuse are buried beneath their castings
and thus brought within reach of the
roots of plants. Two worms, placed in
a vessel eighteen inches in diameter,
which was filled with sand, with fallen
leaves strewn on top, have been observed
to convert layer of the sand four-tenths
of an inch thick into vegetable mold