1 164 Rural School Leaflet 



THE EARTHWORM 



Anna Botsford Comstock 



HE earthworm is a creature without eyes, 



with no sense of smell nor organs of hearing, 



and with no legs nor arms; but the more 



we study it, the less sorry we are for it and the 



more we admire the way in which it succeeds 



despite its natural drawbacks. 



First of all, the earthworm does not need eyes 

 because it lives below the surface of the soil, 

 where eyes would be of little use. Neither does 

 ^v it need a sense of smell, because it has to swallow 

 the soil wherever it lives and whatever the odor. 

 Although it has no organs for hearing, it is very sensitive to vibration; 

 this sense is so keen that it knows by the jar of the robin's feet when 

 hopping over the ground that this enemy is approaching, and it 

 squirms down out of reach as rapidly as possible. Neither does it 

 need legs, for these would be in the way. Its method of locomotion is 

 most excellent for a burrower: on the underside of its body there is on each 

 of the segments, except the first three and the last, a double row of 

 bristles, which project backward — that is, in an opposite direction 

 from that in which the worm is moving. By stretching out these elastic 

 segments and catching hold of the soil by these bristly hooks, and then 

 contracting the segments, the worm moves fast enough for all its needs. 



It would seem at first sight that the earthworm would be very wise 

 indeed if it knew at which end of its body was its head ; but the earthworm 

 is not likely to make a mistake in this respect so readily as are we. In 

 fact, it knows much more than we could believe possible of such a lowly 

 creature. 



The earthworm has a rather remarkable mouth: the upper lip is 

 extended into a proboscis and is used as an elephant uses his proboscis — 

 for pushing food into the mouth. Inside the mouth is a pharynx, which 

 can be extended or withdrawn; it acts as a suction pump in drawing 

 the food. The earthworm has no teeth but it manages to eat through 

 the hardest soil. If we bring one into the schoolroom and place it on cab- 

 bage or lettuce leaves we can see how it eats. 



The earthworm makes for itself a very comfortable burrow, which, 

 opening at the surface of the ground, goes straight down for a distance, 

 then winds about irregularly, and is usually enlarged at the farther end 

 so as to make winter accommodations for several of the worms. The burrow 

 has to be large enough so that anywhere in it the worm can turn around. 



