WORMS. i i 



placed there by the worm itself, and when such stones 

 cannot be found, the seeds of early fruits are chosen. 

 In December several seeds were found in one hole 

 which had sprouted. The delicate rootlets of other 

 plants also often run through the whole length of the 

 holes, forming beautiful webs along the walls. Darwin's 

 last remarkable book * throws still more light upon 

 this subject. It is here shown that worms have ac- 

 complished an almost incredible amount of work in 

 forming the soil, and preparing the layer of vegetable 

 mould which covers the surface of the land to a 

 greater or less depth in every moderately humid 

 country. This mould might, in some respects, be 

 called worm or animal mould, instead of the usual 

 term " vegetable mould," inasmuch as it " has passed 

 many times through, and will again pass many times 

 through, the intestinal canals of worms." " In many 

 parts of England," says Darwin, "a weight of more 

 than ten tons of dry earth annually passes through their 

 bodies, and is brought to flic surface on each acre of 

 land." While within their bodies even dry, sandy soil 

 is converted by chemical agencies, trituration, etc., into 

 rich, fine humus. 



Stones, fragments of marl, cinders, etc., lying upon 

 the surface of the ground, are, in time, covered by the 

 castings of these animals. In this way the remains 

 of many ancient buildings have been buried and pre- 

 served. On the other hand, massive walls have been 

 undermined by worms, and, as a consequence, have 

 subsided. 



By other experiments it is shown that these animals 

 * " Vegetable Mould and Earthworms," 1881. 



