WORMS. 



189 



WORMS. 



Worms are long animals, which are made up of 

 many similar rings. The nerves are distributed in 

 knots or clusters throughout the whole length of the 

 animal, and hence worms are not killed when cut in 

 pieces ; and in some cases the several pieces become 

 distinct worms. The kinds of worm are very numer- 

 ous, but they are most abundant in the sea and in fresh 

 waters. Most of the animals which look like worms 

 are butterflies, or moths, in the larva 

 state, and are caterpillars instead of 

 worms. One of the most common 

 kinds of sea-worm is the Serpula, 

 which lives in tubes that are found 

 incrusting stones and other bodies. 

 The breathing organs are in tufts 

 near the head, and there is a little 

 round body, shown in the cut, which 

 serves to shut the animal in when it 

 withdraws itself into the tube. The 

 Angle- or Earth-Worm, common in 

 rich soils, is well known to all boys, and is used as 

 good bait for trout and other fishes. One of the most 



Fig. 354. — Serpula. 



Fig. 355.— Earth-Worm. 



common of the fresh-water worms is the Gordius, or 

 Hair- Worm. It is called by the last name because 

 many persons, ignorant of its history, have supposed 

 that it is a horse-hair which has been transformed into 

 a worm! 



