BRACHIOPODS. 23I 



ground. The worm may swallow the earth if it is 

 too hard to be pierced in this way. The earth thus 

 swallowed or taken in with the food is discharged 

 on the surface of the ground. These "worm-castings" 

 are very abundant after rains or in the morning after 

 a damp night, as the worms are very active at night 

 and in damp weather. Worms play an important 

 part in causing changes in the soil. Their burrows 

 allow the air and water to easily penetrate the earth 

 and the worms carry very large amounts of soil to the 

 surface from the deeper parts of the ground. The 

 Worm is by no means the slow and torpid creature 

 which most of us fancy it to be. At night they move 

 about actively on the surface of the ground, after their 

 chief enemies, the birds, are asleep. They can also 

 climb, as their presence in eaves, troughs and water 

 tubs shows. The senses of the Worm are not highly 

 developed. Touch and taste are perhaps the best. 

 They show a sort of intelligence in the arrangement of 

 leaves to plug their burrows. The leaf is always drawn 

 into the burrow by the narrow end and the worm feels 

 the leaf all over in order to seize it by the right end. 



In tropical countries Earthworms are found much 

 larger than ours. Some of these are as much as six 

 feet long and thick in proportion. Many small Worms, 

 similar to the Earthworm, are found in fresh water. 



BRACHIOPODS. 



Some Worms so differ in form from the ordinary 

 Worm that they are hardly recognizable as Worms. 

 Such are the Brachiopods and Polyzoa. 



These animals have the two valves of unequal size, 



