The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1899-08-01
Little Folks Column.
A CURIOUS COMMON ANIMAL.

an insect, quadruped or reptile
Everybody knows the earthworm.
Who has not seen it in the flower pots
of our window gardens or in the out
door gardens9 Indeed there aretew who
have not angled with worms for bait.
Did you ever wonder that fish "bite"
so readily at Worms9 1t is we'll known
to the fisherman that fl b only take as
bait such food as they have been &C
customed to, such as minnows, crabs
or frogs, so how is it that fish recog-
nize q dainty morsel in the earthWorm9
The earthWorm belongs to the order
OligOchdetd, which also includes a
number Of tresh-Water forms which
have been distinguished as LimicOLae
from the earthworm or TerricOlGe.
There are, however, no structural pc
culiarities to distinguish the terrestrial
from the aquatic worms, so fish do not
know the difference and eat one quite
as greedily as the other.
Earthworms are found all over the
globe, varying somewhat in size and
appearance in difference localities. In
Cape Colony worms. measure five or
six feet in length when fully extended.
The earthworm has a mouth without
teeth, but no eyes, as Nature provides
no useless members for her subjects,
and as the worm lives under ground
in total darkn 5 eyes would be Of no
value.
II you examine g worm carefully
you will notice that one end is sharp
and pointed, while the other is wide
and fat, and that the little animal is
composed Of a series Of rings. The
pointed end is the head, near which
the heart, intestines and organs of re
production are located and can be dis
tinguished by rings Of light color lar
ger than the rest of the body, about
seven to fourteen segments from the
head. The fat end is the the tail.
Rub the worm gently with the finger
from head to tail and it will feel soft
and smooth, but rub il from tail to
head and it will be found quite rough
and covered with bristling spints that
catch the finger as it passes over the
body. In boring, the pointed head is
i~nsipuated between the particles of
earth, penetrating like q wedge; the
hinder parts are then drawn forward
by shortening the body, which swells
out the anterior or forward segmeIts
and thus forcibly enlarge the passage
into which the head has already been
beeh thrust. When the body is drawn
up the head is held in position by the
numerous sDines, that take a firm hold
upon the sides Of the hole and pre-
vent any retrograde movement, the
head is again forced forward, and the
animal is able to advance with the
greatest apparent ease through sub
chances which it would at first seem
utterly impossible for so helpless a
creature to penetrate
Tie worm is peculiar in the respect
that it takes its fooG directly from the
earth. We all depend upon the earth
for food, but get the nourisbment in
directly through vegetables or animals
that have lived upon vegetation. A
person may starve to death walking
upon the earth that supports all ami
NAL life, but the worm extracts it's
food right from the earth, and the I'M
serviceable portions are elected at the
mouth Of the burrow; they also con
sumo decayed vegetable matter.
The b%urroWing Of the worm is a
proc 81 exceedingly useful to the
gardener and agriculturist, loosening
up the soil so as to admit both air and
moisture. The worm is nocturnal in
its habits and inbabits moist sill, dy-
ing in a ehort time if exposed to the
suns reys, but it avoids lands on which
water stands as we'll IS hard, clayey
soils.
The eggs Of worms, from which two
young generally appear, are deposited
in the soil and develop directly into
earthworms Extreme cold it cannot
endure and during the winter sinks
below the frost line and with several
companions remains coiled up until
the advent Of spring.
Serviceable as the worm is, it consti
tutes the food of many birds; the mole
pursues it increasingly, fish and frogs
eat it, ard even tie great water beetle
devours it.
A curious FACT in regard to the worm
is that il divided in the middle the
piece bearing the head will form a new
tail and soon show little signs of in
jury, but if the division be made near
the head the body will live and renew