There is, perhaps, no word in the languages of 

 cultured nations so connotative of unpleasant con- 

 cepts as the name by which the two foregoing de- 

 scribed animals are commonly known; that is to 

 say, the name "Worm." This word has ever been 

 held and applied as a contemptuous synonym for 

 what is lowest, vilest, and meanest in the opinion 

 of mankind. I rise, not in defence of the worms, 

 for however humble they may appear they require 

 no advocate for their defense; I rise in protest as a 

 human being against that custom born of igno- 

 rance whereby we succeed in slandering our intel- 

 ligence rather than the reputation of the worms. 



Owing to man's experience with the parasitic 

 members of the group, and to the generally mis- 

 taken opinion that many obnoxious larval forms 

 of insects are worms, he has looked upon the free- 

 living forms as also unworthy of respect. This 

 statement, of course, is only approximately true: 

 the naturalist knows them better. He knows that 

 there are few groups that afford more interesting 

 study; he knows that in variety of species and 

 diversity of form they exceed by far any other 

 division in the animal kingdom, and that their 

 habits and behavior are as varied and as diverse as 



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