worms. 259 



I am now going to show you some other examples of 

 travelling machinery, in an humble and despised, but far 

 from uninteresting, class of animals, — the Worms. Here 

 is an Earth-worm upon the garden-border. With what 

 rapidity it winds along, and now it pokes its sharp nose 

 into the ground, and now it has disappeared ! If your 

 eye could follow it, you would see that it makes its way 

 through the compact earth not less easily nor less 

 rapidly than it wound along the surface. If you take 

 it into your hand, you perceive no feet, wings, fins, or 

 limbs of any kind ; only this long cylinder of soft flesh, 

 divided into numerous successive rings, and tapering to 

 each extremity. The very snout which you saw enter 

 so easily into the substance of the soil, is no hard bony 

 point, but formed of the same soft yielding flesh as the 

 other parts. And yet with no other implement does the 

 lithe worm penetrate wdiithersoever it will through the 

 ground. How does it effect this 1 



The fineness of the point to which the muzzle can be 

 drawn is the first essential. This can be so attenuated 

 that the grains of adherent soil can be readily separated 

 by it ; when its action becomes that of the wedge. The 

 body being drawn into the crevice thus made, the particles 

 are separated still farther. Now another provision comes 

 in; the whole surface of the skin secretes and throws off 

 a quantity of tenacious mucus or slime, as you will imme- 

 diately perceive if you handle the Worm ; this has the 

 double effect of causing the pressed particles of soil to 

 adhere together, and then to form a cylindrical w r all, of 

 which they are the bricks, and the slime the mortar; and 

 also of greasing, as it were, the whole interior of the 

 burrow or passage thus made, so that the Worm can 

 travel to and fro in it without impediment ; while the 

 fact that the slime is continually poured forth afresh 

 prevents the least atom of earth from adhering to its 



body. This you have doubtless observed, or may observe 



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