HARD WICKE' S SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



195 



mouth in Gloucestershire. In Sussex and Yorkshire 

 it occurs plentifully, though locally, so that its dis- 

 tribution is wide, though at present it appears to be 

 unknown to any other helminthologist either at home 

 or abroad. The girdle covers segments 34-39. In 

 this respect the worm is incapable of being confused 

 with any other species, as in every other British 

 worm the girdle begins on some segment anterior to 

 the 34th. 



Thus in the red worm (Z. nibtfhts, Hoffmeister), 

 which is plentiful in this county, the girdle begins 

 on segment 27. In every case the British members of 

 this genus have six segments or rings included in the 

 girdle, on the four innermost of which we find a band 

 or swelling which bears the name of tubercula 

 piibertatis, or the puberty band, as I prefer to call it in 

 plain English. I have the red worm from Hornsey' 

 and Pinner, and Dr. Gray may perhaps have intended 

 this species when he included the lesser worm (Z. 

 minor) in his list of species found at Hammersmith. 



One other worm belonging to this genus is found 

 in England, and it too occurs in Middlesex, which 

 county therefore has the honour of being one of the 

 five which alone have yielded all four indigenous 

 species of Lumbricus up till the present time. This 

 is the purple worm (Z. pirpiireiis, Eisen). It is 

 much smaller than either of the foregoing, usually 

 measuring two inches in length. The girdle extends 

 from the 28th to the 33rd segment. Thus far I have 

 only obtained it at Homsey, but it is probably 

 generally distributed throughout the district. 



Before I proceed to enumerate the members of the 

 next genus it may be well to define and tabulate the 

 foregoing. The genus Lumbricus differs from the 

 next (Allolobophora), in several essential particulars. 

 The colour of the Lumbrici is always red-brown, 

 with an iridescent colour-play when the light falls 

 on the skin. The lip cuts the first ring completely 

 in two. There are always six segments in the girdle, 

 over four of which the puberty band is stretched. 

 The bristles or setae are always in couples, and the 

 individual setje in each pair are always close together. 

 This prepares us for 



A TABULAR VIEW OF THE GENUS LUMBRICUS. 



Segments occupied by the 



• 



bBJS 



> V 

 <*1 





Lumbricus. 



Girdle. 



Tuber- 

 cula. 



First 

 Dorsal 

 Pore. 



Papilla*. 



No. of 

 Seg- 

 ments. 



1. Terrestris 32-37 



2. Rubescens 34-39 



3. Rubellus. 27-32 



4. Purpureus 28-33 



33-36 

 35^3 

 28-31 

 29-32 



s 



t 



i 



t IS, 26 1 



t(or 25 )J 



15,28 



None 



10 (or 11) 



5 >ns. 

 4 ins. 

 3 ins. 

 2 ins. 



150-200 

 130-150 

 120-140 

 90-120 



The next genus is larger and more vague. In 

 some of the species nearly all the characters of the 



foregoing genus appear, colour, arrangement of seta:, 

 position of pores and papillae, and the like, while in 

 others the differences are patent to the most casual 

 observer. It is here we have to place, in the fore- 

 front, the long worm {Allolobophora longa, Ude), 

 which is everywhere confused with the true earth- 

 worm, and erroneously recorded as such. At Hornsey 

 it is abundant. Not less so is it in Regent's Park 

 and other similar pleasure-grounds in London and 

 the suburbs, and this is undoubtedly the species 

 referred to by Darwin (" Vegetable Mould," p. 14), as 

 occurring so frequently on the walks in Hyde Park 

 after heavy rain. Mr. Beddard informs me that he 

 has usually employed this species as the type in his 

 biological lectures. 



I place here, somewhat doubtfully another species 

 (Alio. co7npla?iata, Duges). I do this on the strength 

 of a paper which was read this year by a London 

 biologist, though I have not been able thus far to_ 

 obtain an example of the worm for identification. 

 As a nearly allied species has reached me, however, 

 from the Essex side of London, as well as from 

 Hertfordshire and Epping Forest, I have every 

 reason to believe that further research will justify the 

 inclusion of this species in the list of Middlesex 

 worms. 



Of the presence of the Brandling (Alio, fcetida, 

 Savigny) there is no opportunity for doubt. Dr. 

 Gray found it at Hammersmith, Mr. Chaloner 

 dug me up specimens in his garden at Hornsey, 

 where, however, they were rather cultivated than 

 indigenous, while a capital series has been sent me 

 from Eastcote by Miss Edwards. This worm, once 

 seen, will never be mistaken for any other. Its 

 bands of russet and gold, its yellow fluid and fcetid 

 smell, all combine to render it the most conspicuous 

 of all our native worms. 



Nearly related to it, and almost equally favoured 

 by the angler, is the gilt-tail (Alio, subrubicunda, 

 Eisen). It loves a rich diet, greatly preferring the 

 rich ooze of the river or the vegetable mould formed 

 by decaying leaves or garden refuse. It is found near 

 Pinner and at Hornsey, and will reward a little 

 patient search in many other parts of the country. 

 It is usually a rose-red or light ruddy-brown, with 

 pale flesh under-surface, and the bristles in wide 

 pairs, almost amounting to eight separate rows. 

 Though I have not seen the green worm (Alio, 

 chlorolica, Savigny), I have evidence of its occurrence 

 in Middlesex, and with it I must place the turgid 

 worm (Alio, turgida, Eisen), with which the list 

 closes. This makes ten species in all, whereas at 

 least a score occur in this country, and careful search 

 would be sure to bring the county list up to some- 

 thing like eighteen species, if not higher. The six 

 species of Allolobophora enumerated fall into three 

 groups, or couples, the first and second, third and 

 fourth, fifth and sixth, being respectively nearly 

 related to each other. The subjoined table will best 



K 2 



