EARWIG 



2768 



EAST 



Earthworm. The common species, 

 a valuable agent in lertilisation 



been extracted, the soil, after being 

 reduced to fine powder in the in- 

 testine, is discharged at the mouth 

 of the burrow in the familiar worm- 

 castings. 



In his Formation of Vegetable 

 Mould through the Action of 

 Worms, 1881, Darwin estimates 

 that in an acre of average garden 

 land there are about 53,000 earth- 

 worms, and that every year about 

 ten tons of soil pass through their 

 bodies, with the result that they 

 spread fresh soil on the surface at 

 an average rate of an inch in five 

 years. In this way they are con- 

 tinually turning over the soil, and 

 their burrows give access to light 

 and moisture. The destruction of 

 earthworms is therefore an econo- 

 mic mistake. 



Although without eyes, earth- 

 worms dislike light and only 

 emerge from their burrows after 

 dark, unless flooded out by storms. 

 Even when they have emerged, 

 they usually keep their tail in the 

 hole ready for instant withdrawal if 

 alarmed. They are in the habit of 

 plugging the mouth of the burrow 

 with leaves or small stones ; and 

 vegetable matter is drawn in 

 for future consumption. They can 

 certainly smell and taste, and it is 

 probable that they can appreciate 

 the vibrations caused by sound. 



Earthworms are hermaphrodite, 

 and impregnation is mutual in the 

 union of the sexes. The eggs are de- 

 posited in a kind of horny cocoon, 

 which is formed by a secretion 

 round the swollen ring which may 

 be noticed on the body of an adult 

 and is often mistaken for the scar 

 of an old injury. When a worm 

 is cut in two by a spade, the two 

 halves often survive and reproduce 

 the missing parts. 



Earwig. Family (Forficulidae) 

 of orthopterous (straight-winged) 

 insects, which vary considerably 

 from other members of the order. 

 The fore wings are modified into 

 elytra, and the hind wings which 

 are rarely used are folded like a 

 fan. They are readily recognized by 

 the pincer-like appendages on the 



abdomen. The female sits on her 

 eggs and watches over her young 

 for some time. It is generally sup- 

 posed that these insects are sarden 

 pests and feed on plants and fruit : 

 but this is very doubtful. Recent 

 observers maintain that they are 

 largely carnivorous. See Insects. 



Easel. Upright wooden frame 

 of varying size and strength with a 

 rest for the artist's canvas or 

 board. The rest may be adjusted to 

 any convenient height by means of 

 a stop-slide at the back. The word 

 easel (Dutch ezel, Ger. Esel) comes 

 ultimately from Lat. asellus, little 

 ass (dim. of asinus), meaning that 

 which carries or supports. See 

 Painting. 



Easel Picture. Term applied in 

 art criticism to works small enough 

 to be painted on the easel. The 

 name might be given to all cabinet 

 and panel pictures, and most ex- 

 amples of genre and landscape, but 

 not to distinctly large canvases, 

 even though painted at the easel. 



Easement. Term used in Eng- 

 lish law for what is called servitude 

 in Scots law and in other legal sys- 

 tems. There must be two pieces of 

 land (tenements), and the owner of 

 the one, called the dominant tene- 

 ment, has a right over the other, 

 servient tenement. Thus, the 

 owners of Whiteacre (dominant) 

 have a right to use a footpath 

 which runs across Blackacre (servi- 

 ent ) ; this is called a right of way. 

 Other common easements are right 

 of light, or the right to prevent ob- 

 struction to windows ; drainage ; 

 support for buildings e.g. where 

 one house leans on another. 



If the dominant and servient 

 tenements come into the same 

 ownership, the easement vanishes, 

 and if the ownership is again divi- 



ded a fresh 



grant of ease- 

 ment i s re- 

 quired. Ease- 

 ments are ac- 

 q u i red by 

 grant from the 

 servient owner 

 to the domin- 

 ant owner: 

 but a grant 

 will be implied 

 in some cases, 

 where a grant 

 of land is 

 made which 

 would be use- 

 less without 

 aneasement 

 e.g. if A grants to B a field in the 

 middle of A's land, and there is no 

 public road to the field, there is an 

 implied grant of a right of way over 

 A's land. Easements are also ac- 

 quired by long user. See Prescript' on. 

 East. One of the cardinal points. 

 When the observer faces north the 

 east is on the right hand. At an 

 equinox the sun rises due E. and 

 sets due W. 



As a noun East is used for Asia 

 and the eastern part of the world 

 generally. That part which lies, 

 roughly, east of Germany is known 

 in Britain as the Near East, the 

 Middle East, and the Far East- 

 China and Japan. Churches are 

 usually built so that the worship- 

 pers face the east, and at the east 

 end the altar is always placed. 



Easel. Example of a 

 siucho easel 



Earwig. Stages of life history. 1. Female earwig rearranging her eggs in 

 the soil. 2. Assisting the hatching-out process. 3. The young earwigs, silvery 

 at first, emerge after 15 days. 4. The family now increased to 48. 5. As 

 they grow, the young earwigs moult to silvery white again. 6. Starting life at 

 a month old. 7. Earwig, natural size. Figs. 1 to 6 are enlarged two diameters 



