Ii8 NATURE IN A CITY YARD 



the surface fifteen to twenty tons of earth 

 to the acre in this manner every year ! 

 Soft as they are, their muscular tissue is 

 not weak. Stamp your foot near them 

 when they are lying half out of their holes 

 at evening, and see how instantly they pull 

 themselves in, out of sight. 



One of them, a foot long, was found 

 wriggling over our flagged walk, like a 

 snake, in his haste to get to cover. I 

 watched another, about six inches long 

 when extended, crawling over the walk. 

 On arriving at the flower-bed, rich and 

 heavy with recent rain, he almost imme- 

 diately began to dig. In four minutes by 

 the watch he had buried himself, all but 

 the tip of his tail. Fast going, for a crea- 

 ture that has no bony substance. When 

 the yard has been manured and the rains 

 are heavy, the worms appear in great 

 abundance. They are slimy and loath- 

 some until you come to know them ; but 

 when you discover use in things you cease 

 to fret about their appearance. I can see 

 that their burrowings and castings loosen 

 and lighten the soil, and have never learned 



