it JJefo British SEonn, JUhmt0 



By FREDERICK O. P. CAMBRIDGE, B.A. 



HE occurrence of any new form of animal life is 

 always interesting, more especially in such a well 

 worked and circumscribed area as that of Great 

 Britain. Nevertheless it seems somewhat difficult 

 to become very much elated over the discovery of 

 a new species of earthworm, because worms are 

 usually regarded as almost the lowest form in the scale of creation, 

 and are not remarkable either for diversity of form, beauty of 

 colouring, or for any particular intelligence displayed in the carrying 

 out of those functions which are necessary to their existence. 



The late Mr. Charles Darwin has, however, given a much greater 

 interest to the study of the modest worm. In his work on earth- 

 worms and vegetable mould he has shown that the whole of the 

 surface soil of our earth has passed and is continually passing 

 through the bodies of earthworms. This one fact will prove how 

 important a factor the worm is in detei mining the conformation of 

 the surface of the earth. 



So much for worms in general ! 



The discovery of that particular worm which has given occasion 

 to the writing of this paper was not due to a love of worms innate 



