RELATION OF EARTHWORMS TO HORTICULTURE. 99 



the oxides of iron; some of them, Thenard found, will dissolve colloid 

 silica. The chemical solution of these soils is also aided largely, as 

 Darwin has shown, by agitation ; in this, the constant passing of the 

 soil through the intestines of the worms is of great service, as it tends 

 to constantly bring fresh surfaces of the materials of the earth into 

 contact with the acids. The caving of the old worm-burrows, and the 

 formation of new, also aids largely in the process of chemical action. 

 The excess of leaves and buds which the worms drag deep into their 

 burrows, will bring, by their decay, the humus acids nearer to the bed- 

 rock, which is thus exposed to their action. It is evident, from the 

 amount of sand and other coarse materials found in the gizzards of 

 these worms (and Darwin has also proved that this coarse material is 

 dissolved by the chemical process of digestion), that the coarser sub- 

 stances are pulverized, enriched and converted into a fine soil by this 

 trituration. 



We might speak, also, of the agency of worms in smoothing off 

 and leveling rough fields and lawns. The writer has noticed, on his 

 his own lawn, that the rough places left by the foot of a stray horse or 

 cow are very quickly obliterated. Rough ploughed fields, in a few 

 years, if left alone, soon become tolerably smooth pasture land. The 

 immense amount of worm castings is carried, either by wind or rain, 

 and deposited in the depressions, thus rendering the surface compara- 

 tively smooth in a relatively short time. Worms also prepare the soil 

 for the gardener, rendering it friable and soft, thus aiding the growth 

 of fibrous-rooted plants more than the efforts of the most skillful culti- 

 vator. The worm-burrows must also aid largely in facilitating the prog- 

 ress of the larger roots in the soil, and, by bringing decaying leaves 

 and organic matter in direct contact with these roots, assist greatly in 

 the nourishment of the plant. 



In closing this brief and, necessarily, imperfect sketch of a humble 

 worker, we may say that few animals have borne so important a part in 

 preparing the earth for the use of man as that which has, heretofore, 

 always been called by us the insignificant earth worm. 



Mr. George Husman was called upon to give a few thoughts upon 

 the grape. 



Mr. Husman — I don't know that I could give you any advice or in- 

 formation on the subject. I could tell you how we grow vines in Cali- 

 fornia, or how I used to grow them here. I have become rusty in five 

 years absence, and by growing and pruning different varieties, and in 

 different ways altogether there from those here. 



