V2.2 HABITS OF WORMS. Chap. H 



three cubic centimeters. They were, therefore 

 of srnall size in comparison with those often 

 found in England ; for six large castings from 

 a field near my house averaged 16 cubic centi- 

 meters. Several species of earth-worms are 

 common in St. Catharina in South Brazil, and 

 Fritz Miiller informs me " that in most parts of 

 " the forests and pasture-lands, the whole soil, 

 " to a depth of a quarter of a metre, looks as if it 

 " had passed repeatedly through the intestines 

 " of earth-worms, even where hardly any cast- 

 " ings are to be seen on the surface." A 

 gigantic but very rare species is found there, 

 the burrows of which are sometimes even two 

 centimeters or nearly ^ of an inch in diameter, 

 and which apparently penetrate the ground 

 to a great depth. 



In the dry climate of New South Wales, I 

 hardly expected that worms would be com- 

 mon ; but Dr. G. Krefft of Sydney, to whom 

 I applied, after making enquiries from 

 gardeners and others, and from his own 

 observations, informs me that their castings 

 abound. He sent me some collected after 

 heavy rain, and they consisted of little pellets, 

 about *15 inch in diameter ; and the blackened 



