IV 



Can It Be Done? 



IN THE foregoing pages we have discussed the earthworm in 

 nature and shown something of its value in the soil. We have 

 shown earthworms working in the soils of England in concen- 

 trations of from 25,000 to 53,000 per acre or more ; and in the 

 soils of the United States in concentrations of from 250,000 to 

 upwards of 2,000,000 per acre. We have shown earthworms in 

 England in an annual production of ten tons of castings per acre, 

 while in the more favorable environment of the Upper Nile 

 Valley we have reported on the annual production of more than 

 two hundred tons of castings per acre. 



The value of the earthworm in nature has been established 

 beyond question. However, talking and writing about the value 

 of earthworms in nature without doing anything about it is ex- 

 actly like the academic discussion of water power in nature, 

 without ever a thought or effort to utilize it in the service of 

 man. The positive and unqualified answer to the question "Can 

 it be done?" is "Yes it has been done." 



One million earthworms per acre in good native soil is con- 

 sidered a very numerous natural population. Such a population 

 represents approximately ten worms per cubic foot of soil, 

 figuring an average working depth of thirty inches. 



In the intensive propagation and use of domesticated earth- 

 worms, we have put them to work in controlled soil-building 

 operations in concentrations of three thousand or more per cubic 



56 



