no 



the acre, far down into the subsoil, we have some measure of 

 our indebtedness to him. If next we examine these passage- 

 ways of the worm, by which it descends to itg subterranean 

 abode, we will tiiid that the portion of them below the sur- 

 face soil can be to a greater or less degree traced by their dark 

 lining, which may be surface soil carried down on the slimy 

 body of the worm in his descent^ — or excrementative matter, 

 perhaps part of each. In either case it must enrich and 

 improve the subsoil for agricultural uses. 



There is a third office of these, numberless galleries, which 

 must not be overlooked ; as it is a fact that their little tenants 

 come to the surface about every night of the growing season, 

 then it must follow that the galleries are open in times of 

 drought to admit the air which then is heavily loaded with 

 moisture, which must be deposited on the cooler interior. 

 Again, these myriad openings probably serve as conductors to 

 convey the water of summer showers into the subsoil, and 

 thus hold in numberless tiny reservoirs that which otherwise) 

 would be wasted in the hurried dash on a dry, dusty surface^ 

 which characterizes most of our summer storms. 



If then the angle worm is a friend to agriculture, the fact 

 may have some bearing on the manure question, — for thosei 

 manures which abound most in vegetable matter are favora- 

 ble to his growth, and vice versa. • Among those favorable to 

 his development, barnyard manure would doubtless rank the 

 highest, while tl>e guanos, phosphates, and the various other 

 chemical fertilizers, cannot any of them be favorable, whild 

 some must be prejudicial to his development. 



To one who has been accustomed to the abundance of the 

 angle worm in highly cultivated gardens, the fact is a striking 

 one that in Northen New England there are locations where 

 it is veiy scarce, and yet in these very localities, if once 

 brought there, and put in land where the house waste is 

 thrown, they will rapidly increase and become as plenty as I 

 have ever seen them elsewhere. The fact that the worm 

 ^-omes to the surfiice during the nights of summer, is alluded 



