The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-04-22
WORMS ON THE MOVE.
What an Hours Study of Their
Habits VIII Develop.
From our Animal FrIen

From Our Animal Friends.
The boy who goes hshing with pail Of
worm for bait knows what a pleasant
hour he might have and yet make his out
ing much more agreeable for the worms
and for the fish. He should take a look
ID scientific peep-at the contents of that
pail instead of throwing them ignorantly
away After all his pains in digging for
the worms he and they are scarcely ac-
quaintances, and yea. If we should ask
him, he must admit that he has dug up
worms in the springtime, year after year.
and gone fishing, knowing as little about
the worm when his sport was over as he
did when he started out
To see really what sort OF fellow the
common earthworm is, first put him into
a bowl of water. He will soon wrlggle
himself free of every particle of dirt, and
you may then make him more comfort
able on some dry, smooth surface while
you study the peculiar movements of his
remarkable body. He belongs 40 the sub
kingdom of Vermes, class Annelida, which
are animals whose bodies are made up
of an indefinite number or segments.
bearing appendages which are not joint
ed" The name Annelida is from the
Latin word annulus, ring. The worms
body consists of a series of segments, or
rings all alike In form, except at the two
ends; abe anterior end tapers to "a blunt
point; the hinder end is broad and fat
tened. Watch the worm shorten himself
after long stretch. Projecting from
the sides and the lower portion of each
ring you will see the tiny bristles called
setae with which the he manages to
walk. When he lengthens his body the
setae on the hinder rings prevent him
from stretching backward, because they.
'in pointing backward. stick into the
ground" The worm can, therefore.
stretch only forward. In the sam man
ner when he shortens his body the setae
L., rim ett IDt 4b9 Ground
and the hinder part of the body is drawn
up he repeats this process every time
that he moves along
That way of walking may sound very
complicated and wonderful, but 1t Is no
more wonderful than that you should be
able to balance your body on your two legs
and walk without giving a thought OF
how you do IL, or to how wonderful 1t Is
that 1t can be done without thought.
Watch a baby's efforts to keep his bal
ance in learning to toddle only rev
steps, and you understand that walking
seems easy to you, because you nave mao
so much practice.
The usefulness of worms may be seen
at once when you compare some Of the
things that they do with those that they
are untustly accused of doing. Worms 40
not destroy the roots of trees and plants.
They eat half-decayed leaves, which they
are able to grind with the muscles of the
mouth but they have no teeth with
which to gnaw. They are useful TO man
in boring through the ground and loosen
ing the soil TO make 1t ready Tor the
fibres of plants to enter. Surface SOIL is
more or less loose, but the sub-soil is hard
and compact until the earthworms have
worked It, Our tallest trees, even, would
soon die If no opening were made by the
worms for their root hbres TO enter 10
keep worm-life in check, nature has pro-
vided the birds, and any one who has
watched the robin dine will see that there
is no danger or the earthWorn supply GA
ceeding the demand
There are few worms in fresh water.
Prof Morse tells us that the sea seems
to be their true home, and he ADVISES
young students to search for the common
seaworms on the beach between the high
and the low water mark after an ocean
storm. or to dig for them in the sand To
keep them alive for any length OF time
in a saltwater aquarium is almost I'M
possible so to study them at their best
Won should place them in shallow bowls
or plates, and later return them TO the
place where you found them. Their grace
full motions and curious ways may be
seen perfectly while they are swimming
about in the bowl. The head is not so
simple as the earthworm's; 1t has several
feelers Some sea-worms have powerful
laws, which work up and down ana a
double row Of "oval scales along the
back"
The most interesting sea-worms OF
which Prof Morse tells build tubes OF
mud or sand in which they live. and many
of them have punches of thread-like feel
ers on their heads" Put these clever lit
tie fellows into plate of sea-water, with
particles of dirt or sand, and they VIII
at once begin to build a new tube. The
threads on their heads will stretch out
like delicate rubber cords, and, becom-
ing entangled in the particles Of dirt, Will
draw them toward The head" Then the
other bristles on the creatures body are
used to mold the dirt into the shape OF a
tube.
Isn't It more amusing to study the
worms in that way than to stick them on
a barbed hook and fling them into the wa
ter out of sight, as IL they were bits of
dirt instead of the wonderful little crea-
lures that have a place in the world and
know how to do their share of the worlds
work?