Chapter 13 

 WORMS 



The name Vermes was formerly used in a very broad sense, 

 to include the many kinds of animals commonly called worms, 

 though not the caterpillars or larvae of moths and butterflies. 

 The name itself, the plural form of the Latin Vermis, a worm, is 

 hardly different from the English term. It could not begin with 

 W in Latin, because that letter does not exist in the language. 

 Zoologists who studied the anatomy of worms became aware of 

 the fact that there are several great groups or Phyla, radically 

 differing in their structure. Thus there is the group of Platy- 

 helminthes, the Flat-worms, the formidable scientific term mean- 

 ing exactly that in Greek. Another group consists of Round- 

 worms, Nemathelminthes, sometimes called simply Nemas. 

 Then we have the Rotifers, belonging to the Trochelminthes, 

 minute creatures at first glance looking more like Protozoa than 

 worms. Finally the Annelida, or segmented worms, include 

 earthworms and leeches. They are regarded as the "highest" 

 of all, approaching in some respects the arthropod type. 



The worms of Colorado include those which live in fresh 

 water or damp earth, or are parasitic. Undoubtedly we have 

 many species, but as yet they have only been partially studied. 

 The scientific description of worms involves a more or less elabor- 

 ate technique, and in many cases it is necessary to cut specimens 

 into great numbers of thin sections, which must be stained and 

 examined under a high power of the microscope. Thus no one 

 can make a good Helminthologist (this means in Greek, student 

 of worms) unless he has a large amount of time, a like amount of 

 patience, and a good deal of manual skill. The uninformed 

 public is likely to wonder why any one should go to all this 

 trouble, but the scientific student has no such doubts. Not only 

 is he interested in working out nature's puzzles, as such, but he 

 is well aware that the fate of peoples may hang on such results 

 as he attains. To cite only one case, knowledge of the hookworm 

 and its life history means the rejuvenation of the Southern States, 

 which have long suffered from the nameless malady which sapped 

 the energy of thousands, so that their name was a by-word to 

 those who did not understand. Again, we may recall how sheep 



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