The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1901-10-26
AN EARTHWORMS VALUE
TURNS UP THE Soil AND THUS
HELPS VEGETATION ALONG.


Then they are most conspicuous. but
they may be found any time by dig
cling into the ground. They are ma
lures 1owliest gardeners, and perform
d tremendous amount of work IN the
world: Boys think them created for
the particular purposes Of bait. 1t
was owing to a boys forgotten jar Of
squirming worms that his family be-
came interested In the creatures, and
the boy himself says that he now feels
like taking of his hat to every earth
worm that wriggles out Of his way.
A two-quart glass fruit jar was
nearly filled with earthworms and
earth from the back yard. The earth
was there to keep the worms comfort.
able until fishing time. Company
came into the household, however.
and the boy was not permitted to go
fishing, and as the cook was preparing
vegetables for dinner he threw onion
chips and scraps Of cabbage into the
receptacle as food for the worms.
They did not appear distressed about
their captivity, and began to make
themselves at home In their new sur
roundings. Both cabbage and onion
were devoured, and the long Shiny
creatures set about making burrows
which could be quite plainly traced
through the glass.
When the boy took the jar on his
worm hunt 1t contained about two
inches of white sand belonging to the
canary birds. He had neglected to
throw this away, and black mold and
worms were placed on top. The cook
set the jar on the window sill among
her plants, and, as a matter Of conve-
nience, put dried leaves and twigs
from the flower pots into 1t. The
worms set to work to keep their small
domain in order. Burrows ran from
top to bottom. The white sand from
the bottom veined the soil to the sur
face. Twigs and leaves were gnawed
into pieces and dragged to the depths.
Some small chicken bones thrown to
the worms were buried.
A month passed before the boy was
invited to go fishing, and by that time
he could not be induced to part with
his jar of Industrious workers. He
watched others in the garden, sat
down beside their burrows at the edge
Of the park walks and made up his
mind that they were too useful to kill.
Something else must be found for fish
bait. His grandfather tried to con-
vince him that serving as fish bait may
have been one of the uses for which
these worms were created, but the boy
decided differently.
Even superficial study proves that
worms have played an important part
In the worlds history. They turn over
the entire surface Of vegetable mold
on the earth every few years. Their
burrows are made in two ways, either
by tunneling and pressing the earth
close to the sides of the tunnel or by
swallowing the earth, literally eating
their way downward, sometimes to a
depth Of eight feet. They devour the
earth for the food 1t contains. casting
off the sandy particles upon the sur
face.
Farmers themselves are unaware Of
the aid given them by earthworms,
which keep the soil in constant me We
ment Half-decayed leaves are d.
gested by them or are dragged into
their burrows below the surface in
great quantities. Different strata of
soil several feet down are carried up
ward. Old burrows are constantly
collapsing and new ones being made,
the earth is sifted and exposed to the
action Of the air.
Bones Of animals. dead insects, shells
of land mollusks, leaves and twigs are
buried beneath the castings. They
prepare the ground for the growth Of
f1brous-rooted plants and for seedlings
Of all kinds by their method of gar
dening. Darwin says that the earth
was plowed by them long before the
plow was invented by man.
Though the lowliest order of ami
mails and poorly provided with sense
organs, they are able to distinguish
between light and darkness, are deaf,
but have feeble sense Of smell; are
sensitive to heat and cold and vibra-
tons. and show degree Of taste by
selecting favorite kinds Of leaves for
food and rejecting others.
= About the mouths Of their tunnels
or burrows they heap little piles Of
tiny stones. A boy scattered the
stones to a short distance and was In
terested to see the worms crawl out
and carry them back, one by one.
They enjoy lying near the surface, and
owing to this pleasure robins and
other birds acquainted with the little
heap Of stones or the leaf-plugged en-
frances know Just where to plunge
their bills into the ground to pull up
q fat. wriggling worm. Thousands Of
earthworms meet their death In this
way.
Their industry is not confined to
turning over the soil and benefiting
the farmer. Some Of the ancient mon
oliths that have been overthrown were
probably undermined by worms. Ex-
tensive ruins have been buried by
earthworms undermining the founda-
tions. Coal cinders and lime spread
over fields have been carried below
ground in a short space Of time. A
German scientist estimates that an or
binary field contains about 53,767
worms to the acre.
Measurements taken near Nice, In
France, show that fourteen tons Of
soil are annually brought to the sur
face Of a single acre Of land by these
silent workers. In the chalk district
Of England the average was eighteen
tons to the acre. and on an old, we'll
rolled, grass-grown terrace. sixteen
tons. The Roman city Of Urisonium,
Beaulieu Abbey and various other
ruins in England have been buried
through this agency alone. The worms