﻿^ACKAED.] 
  

  

  THE 
  EARTH-WORM. 
  

  

  761 
  

  

  berries 
  it 
  contents 
  itself 
  with 
  a 
  food 
  less 
  choice 
  ; 
  thus 
  I 
  have 
  found 
  it 
  in 
  

   abundance 
  in 
  the 
  decayed 
  bulbs 
  of 
  Gladiolus 
  communis. 
  The 
  lulus 
  Ion- 
  

   dinensis, 
  so 
  common 
  in 
  heaps 
  of 
  dead 
  leaves 
  and 
  decaying 
  vegeta- 
  

   bles, 
  feeds 
  on 
  decaying 
  vegetable 
  tissues, 
  and 
  if 
  it 
  has 
  to 
  choose 
  between 
  

   green 
  and 
  fresh 
  vegetables 
  and 
  the 
  debris 
  of 
  rotten 
  vegetables, 
  it 
  selects 
  

   the 
  latter 
  : 
  an 
  individual 
  placed 
  in 
  a 
  box 
  with 
  green 
  leaves 
  of 
  the 
  pear, 
  

   lilac, 
  grape-vine, 
  and 
  grass, 
  gnawed 
  exclusively 
  an 
  old, 
  dry, 
  and 
  brown 
  

   pea-leaf. 
  The 
  lulus 
  sahulosus 
  lives 
  under 
  heaps 
  of 
  the 
  dried 
  leaves 
  of 
  

   the 
  elm, 
  asb, 
  oak, 
  beach, 
  and 
  is 
  nourished 
  by 
  them. 
  M, 
  Gervais 
  has 
  

   found 
  the 
  lulus^ 
  lucifugus 
  in 
  the 
  tan 
  of 
  the 
  green-houses 
  of 
  the 
  Museum 
  

   of 
  Paris." 
  From 
  this 
  statement 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  seen 
  that 
  as 
  a 
  rule 
  these 
  miUe- 
  

   pedes 
  are 
  scavengers, 
  and 
  more 
  beneficial 
  than 
  injurious, 
  as 
  they 
  live 
  

   principally 
  on 
  decaying 
  vegetable 
  matter. 
  

  

  Eeturning 
  to 
  Dr. 
  Fitch's 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  Polydesmus 
  canadensis, 
  he 
  

   states 
  that 
  it 
  eats 
  the 
  skin 
  of 
  cucumbers, 
  and 
  he 
  thinks 
  that 
  stunted, 
  

   gnarly, 
  deformed, 
  and 
  bitter 
  cucumbers 
  are 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  the 
  wound 
  

   of 
  these 
  millepedes. 
  Onions, 
  when 
  thickly 
  growing 
  together, 
  having 
  

   attained 
  but 
  a 
  third 
  or 
  half 
  their 
  growth, 
  in 
  many 
  cases 
  stop 
  growing, 
  

   and 
  the 
  tops 
  gradually 
  wither 
  and 
  die. 
  " 
  On 
  pulling 
  up 
  those 
  which 
  

   are 
  thus 
  affected, 
  it 
  is 
  found 
  that 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  thread-like 
  rootlets 
  

   underneath 
  have 
  been 
  severed 
  at 
  the 
  point 
  of 
  their 
  junction 
  with 
  the 
  

   bulb 
  as 
  smoothly 
  and 
  evenly 
  as 
  though 
  they 
  had 
  been 
  cut 
  off' 
  with 
  a 
  

   knife, 
  only 
  a 
  few 
  of 
  the 
  central 
  ones 
  retaining 
  their 
  connection 
  with 
  the 
  

   bulb." 
  lie 
  has 
  no 
  doubt 
  but 
  that 
  the 
  millepedes 
  do 
  this. 
  He 
  also 
  

   thinks 
  that 
  the 
  disease 
  in 
  cabbages 
  called 
  anbury, 
  or 
  club-root, 
  is 
  caused 
  

   by 
  the 
  bite 
  of 
  these 
  millepedes. 
  

  

  The 
  Earth-worm, 
  Lumbricus 
  terrestris 
  Liiurx. 
  — 
  Drawing 
  young 
  cabbage, 
  lettuce, 
  and 
  

   beans 
  into 
  their 
  holes 
  ; 
  the 
  common 
  earth-worm. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  a 
  well-known 
  fact 
  that 
  earth-worms, 
  in 
  the 
  main 
  beneficial 
  from 
  

   their 
  habits 
  of 
  boring 
  into 
  soil 
  of 
  gardens 
  and 
  plowed 
  lands, 
  and 
  thus 
  

   allowing 
  the 
  air 
  to 
  get 
  to 
  the 
  roots 
  of 
  

   plants, 
  occasionally 
  injure 
  young 
  seed- 
  

   ling-plants 
  of 
  the 
  cabbage, 
  lettuce, 
  beet, 
  

   etc., 
  by 
  drawing 
  them 
  into 
  their 
  holes 
  

   or 
  uprooting 
  them, 
  working 
  by 
  night. 
  

   They 
  are 
  also 
  sometimes 
  known 
  to 
  eat 
  

   large 
  holes 
  in 
  the 
  tender 
  leaves 
  of 
  

   plants. 
  Mr. 
  E. 
  P. 
  Knight 
  thus 
  describes 
  

   the 
  habits 
  of 
  the 
  earth-worm 
  (American 
  

   Naturalist, 
  vol. 
  3, 
  p. 
  388) 
  : 
  " 
  Last 
  spring 
  

   (and 
  this) 
  I 
  was 
  led 
  to 
  watch 
  the 
  common 
  

   earth-worms 
  in 
  my 
  garden, 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  

   plot 
  of 
  grass 
  saw 
  their 
  manner 
  of 
  feed- 
  

   ing. 
  I 
  was 
  within 
  ten 
  inches 
  of 
  their 
  

   bodies. 
  I 
  saw 
  one 
  prepare 
  to 
  feed 
  on 
  a 
  

   young 
  clover-leaf 
  from 
  a 
  clover-stock 
  ; 
  

   he 
  kept 
  his 
  tail 
  secured 
  to 
  the 
  hole 
  (as 
  

   a 
  base 
  line) 
  in 
  the 
  ground, 
  by 
  which 
  he 
  

   retreated 
  quicker 
  than 
  the 
  eye 
  could 
  

   follow 
  him. 
  Finding 
  all 
  quiet, 
  he 
  came 
  

   again. 
  Within 
  a 
  few 
  inches 
  of 
  my 
  eye 
  

   the 
  pointed 
  head 
  of 
  the 
  worm 
  changed, 
  and 
  the 
  end 
  was 
  as 
  if 
  cut 
  off 
  

   square. 
  I 
  then 
  saw 
  it 
  was 
  a 
  mouth. 
  He 
  approached 
  the 
  leaf 
  and 
  by 
  a 
  

   strong 
  and 
  rapid 
  muscular 
  action 
  of 
  the 
  rings 
  of 
  the 
  whole 
  body 
  drew 
  

   the 
  leaf 
  and 
  one 
  inch 
  of 
  the 
  tender 
  stock 
  into 
  his 
  mouth, 
  and 
  then 
  by 
  a 
  

  

  Fig. 
  31. 
  — 
  Earth-worms 
  pairing. 
  (After 
  

   Curtis.) 
  a, 
  Embryo 
  soon 
  after 
  seg- 
  

   mentation 
  of 
  the 
  yolk 
  ; 
  h, 
  embryo 
  

   further 
  advanced 
  ; 
  (o, 
  month) 
  ; 
  c, 
  em- 
  

   bryo 
  still 
  older; 
  (fc, 
  primitive 
  streak) 
  ; 
  

   d, 
  embryo 
  still 
  older 
  ; 
  (o, 
  mouth, 
  after 
  

   Kowalevsky). 
  

  

  