112 



for their existence. Though cold to the touch, yet they need 

 a degree of heat to preserve life, and, doubtless for this reason 

 in part, they descend below the reach of frost. As soon as 

 the frost breaks ground, they come to the surface, and should 

 the gardener in early spring be in doubt as to whether his 

 grounds are fully thawed, he has but to turn up a forkful of 

 earth, and the presence or absence of the angle worm will 

 settle the question ; for if he is at the surface then there can 

 be no icy barrier remaining between him and his winter 

 home. At one time, while collecting some late in the fiiU, 

 I threw them into a shallow box, in which were a few hand- 

 fuls of earth, and left them out over night. It was cold, 

 and the surftice of the ground was frozen about an inch in 

 depth. In the morning I found them all gathered and in- 

 tertwined into a round ball, about the size of a child's fist. 

 I inferred that their object was to endeavor to maintain the 

 low temperature necessary for their existence, and the form 

 they had chosen was certainly the very best possible for that 

 end. 



