The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1897-07-29

burrows to depth of three inches.
| After about weeks an almost uniform
layer of sand, a centimetre in thickness,
was converted into humus by having
passed through the alimentary canals oil
these two worms. tits believed by some
persons that worm burrows, which often
penetrate the ground almost perpendic-
ularly to a depth of about six feet, mate
rally aid in its drainage; notwithstand-
ing that the viscid castings, piled over
the mouth Of the burrows prevent or
check the rainwater directly entering
them. They allow the air to penetrate
deeply into the ground They also
greatly facilitate the downward passage
of roots of moderate size; and these will
be nourished by the humus with which
the burrows are lined. Many seeds owe
their germination to having been cover
ed by castings and others buried to
considerable depth beneath accumulated
castings lie dormant, until at some iu-
ture time they are accidentally uncovered
and germinate.
When we behold a wide, turf covered
expanse, we should remember that its
smoothness, on which so much OF its
beauty depends, is mainly due to all the
inequalities having been slowly leveled
by worms. 1t is marvellous reflection
that the whole Of the superficial mold
over which any such expause has passed,
and will again pass, every few years
through the bodies Of worms. The plow
is one of the most ancient and most val
liable Of mans inventions; but long be-
fore he existed the land was in fact re-
gularly plowed, and still continually to
be thus plowed, by earth worms 1t may
+ be doubted whether there are manyother
animals which have played so important
part in the history Of the world as have
these lowly organized creatures. Some
other animals however, still more lowly
organized, namely Corals, have done far
more conspicuous work in having con
stucted innumerable reefs and islauds
in the great oceans; but these are almost
confined to the tropical zones.
INTELLIGENCE OF WORMS
We can hardly escape from the conclu-
sion that worms show some degree of
intelligence in their manner ofplugging
up their burrows. Each particular oh.
iect is seized in too uniform a manner,
and from causes which we can generally
understand for the result to be attribu-
ted to mere chance. That every object
has not been drawn in by its pointed end,
may be accounted for by labor having
been saved through some being inserted
bv their boader or thicker ends. No
doubt worms are led by instinct to plug
up their burrows; and it might have
been expected that they would have been
led by instinct how best to act in each
particular case, independently of intel
legence. We see how difficult It is to
Judge whether intelligence comes i'll
play, for even plants might some
times be thought to be thus
directed for instance, when displaced
leaves redirect their upper surfaces to-
ward the light by extremely complicated
movements and by the shortest course.
With animals, actions due to appearing
intelligence may be performed through
inherited habit without any intelligence,
although aboriginally thus acquired. Or
the habit may have been acquired
through the preservation and inheri-
tance of beniicial variations Of some
habit; and in this case the new habit
will have been acquired independently Of
intelligence throughout the whole
F course of its development. There is no
r apriori improbability in worms having
acquired special instincts through either
of these two latter means. Neverthe-
less, it is incredible that instincts should
have been developed in reference to OBJ
jects such as the leaves of the petioles OF
foreign plants, wholly unknown to the
progenitors of the worms which act in
the described manner. Nor are their
actions so unvarying or inevitable as are
-, most true instincts. AS worms are not
: guided by special instincts in each par
ticular case, though possessing genera
! instinct to plug up their burrows and
as chance is excluded, the next mos
: probable conclusion seems to be that the,
=, try in many different ways to draw IL
=, objects, and at last succeed i'll some way
;, But it is surprising that an animal 81
. low in the scale as worm should hav,
y. the capacity for acting in this manner
.. as many higher animals have no sucl
i capacity.
i Mr.. Romanes, who has specially stud
-, led the minds of animals believes tina
- we can safely infer intelligence onl
;, when we see an individual proftng b
=, its own experience. Now, if worms tr
i to drag objects to their burrows first i
., one way and then in another, until the
at last succeed, they profit at least /
, each particular instance by eXperienc,
<. One alternative is left, namely, thf
s. worms, although standing low in til
II scale of organization, possess some de
,e gree of intelligence. This will strik
~ everyone as very improbable but it ma
N be doubted whether we know enoug
,y about the nervous system of the lowe