The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-12-26
THEY RUN A WORM RANCH
Queer Industry Carried on by q Denver
Man and His Wife

Man and His wife.
Denver, Colo. Dec. ga worm farm IS
one of the features in a store Z. E. Aoheri
runs at IBIS Seventeenth street Mr.. Ach-
ert and his wife have been in the worm
raising industry in Denver for over TWEEN
ty years, nevertheless no account Of their
farm has yet appeared in state agricul-
tural reports. This happened, perhaps
because il is the only institution of its
kind in the country, and was overlooked
on account of its novelty.
The worms are chiefly bred to furnish
food for mocking birds, and about 800
Denver people who own feathered MINI
mes Of this variety are regular customers
of the Achert farm. All soft-billed birds,
nfghtingaleS, thruShes, black birds, etc,
eat the kind of worm the Acherts raise;
but there are not many of these birds In
Denver. SO the Achert farm provides dell
cacies almost solely and entirely for the
hooking bird tribe.
Although Mr.. and Mrs. Achert call their
worm plant a farm, there is very little of
the agricultural about il. 1t looks more
like chiffonier than a ranch
Standing in the middle Of the little shop
IS a large wooden contrivance, fitted out
with -four drawers. Each drawer Is
filled to the brim with a moving, living
mass. On the top on each wriggEng heap
is heavy linen cloth, eaten through here
and there into holes. Out OF nearly every
hole just now sticks the brown head OF
a wriggling meal worm. for the Achert
reptilian stock is abundant.
AS explained by z. E. Achert, the pro-
cess of raising meal worms for the feed
of soft-billed birds is quite complicated
business. The history of the Denver farm
Acherts came to Denver twenty years ago.
bringing with them a pair OF mOck1ng
birds. In the old country feed for the
pets was easily obtained in the Touring
mills. They ate ysllowish worm, which
seems to generate and breed in ground
meal. -four and bran. After arriving in
America the Acherts could obtain none
OF these worms. They did not seem TO
grow here-and they had hard time
keeping their birds alive, ignorant as they
We're Of what other food the hooking birds
would eat
Il happened that after a couple Of
months stay IN Denver, Mrs. AChert was
called back 10 Germany. and before leav-
ing she was instructed by her husband
to bring back some meal worms for the
pair Of hooking birds. In Frankfort she
purchased a supply. ard these formed the
nucleus Of the farm az l2i5 Seventeenth
street
From the worms brought here by Mrs.
Achert, numerous millions have since been
raised The staple diet Of the beats con-
sists Of beer. wooden blankets and meal
bran.
over the bottom Of each drawer Is
scattered a mess Of bran, in which The
meal worm bug lays Is eggs over me
bran IS laid a section OF mex Woc4en
blanket: above this more meal bran, ana
over al a heavy piece OF linen Between
the linen and the bottom OF the drawer
an Interesting process Of evolution IS go
ing on all the year round
Where the evolutionary movement con-
mences * a question for abstrllSe, hair
splitting s,fA.t!sts but IN AcheFt's farm
Z began with the worms. AFTER lapse
OF about three months his yellow. one
nlch long WORMS grew a naId sAeii o.
hrowriSh hue upon them ana appear e -
80 her Teeza.gr
this arno- they cTawled out q ne upper
strata Of -he farm 20 The SOFT bran a. t-le
bottom Of he drawer. and lad here. ap-
parently without power OF -notic'n
few weeks more. and e2,ca sneii nlEsl,
giving birta 70 an ugly black bug OF
small dimensions. and possessed o. horns
and feelers n pleD-y. These thin - 81 arm
ed n ne meal bran. uuiil tley n-S,t1l :. a.
over ard lad eggs A lSs, a u-s -
her due ous--irv % eggs. she rolled over
or her bss,E ard d-et- X t1eTe are mae
meal worm bugs Ire AcheTfs nave TO
become CogrEzz1t o. the lact' A. Sle-F
bugs lay eggs -. -.
a f-orl- = -79--h there q 10 evidence % LIE
a-rQaren. On re T0-T1 farm Al t1e ed
81 -ha moth n. lower stratum % ban
--zTiS ard CusverS III - - - -
-sr-r- s-sl,ra small -rc-T-s- these thrzte
49, - 49, -he- est rlef- way through
-ra tre-5- f~-r -he s---or- lsyer o S-a7-
ara TrzIIv- a-oear - U-iE-l1S mass
under re linen cover - re 'ey o. re
Erawer- -.
----5 a. sTT--a--e % 5ee-- Gezl So-rzs
,s-.sr 1919 upon izze- beer ! =
s1-.nklet an over re lizea cover nv
49, h4-~n--a= Szrg-z-ss-. Al IL s11ea-
- = 1870 So ssei- Esse--f.~. EC--1s
: =, 80 - re -rs-ket zf.e- for
nights s.zzli-g. Taey are SOD y tss
4 hes a. he rate . =" -or = oe1.S
- - -.--s---., Ei-ss are SUPPLIED VII
~ 49, -e--7,'s-iy throughout tEe year.
- - .s-s 49, rEo % four Eo-z2s
a 6ay. So re f~eSnS oo1es cee1FS
49,. -s-r~,-g,1r-hs - s--e -o--1s Tzis>->
: - cs--.-s--- --->et az G-e 500
-. r.,-ss,Fs.- berg Kept ;e- a-e-~A-s
- r-,-~S whsu 8 Tor-u ETy~E P-eitS
-. =. - h.--s-S ets z1s-zE2o--hcs 20
---.-.s 80. - aa1E. 10 70 II go
! - 49, ,r. :, worrn agzl-- z =. AcA@-;
- - rrf<e ssse-. "a t1STS s re oily
neal worm ranch = Ai1e