A New Concept 



IN THE following chapters we deal with the intensive propaga- 

 tion and use of earthworms under controlled environment. As 

 has been stated, the one fact which makes it possible to utilize 

 the earthworm in mass-production of humus-laden topsoil is that 

 the number of earthworms in a given environment is limited only 

 by the amount of available food present. 



There are two objectives to be held in mind: The first is the 

 most effective and economical utilization of all possible organic 

 material, such as every form of vegetation, all animal manures, 

 garbage, garden, orchard, and farm waste, and litter of all kinds; 

 in fact, what we have termed the biological end-products of life 

 as opposed to purely chemical end-products and strictly chemical 

 fertilizers. The second objective is to establish the greatest pos- 

 sible earthworm population in the soil, using methods of tillage 

 and organic fertilization that will favor the maintenance of earth- 

 worms in the soil, as well as the bacterial population that is con- 

 cerned in soil-building and maintenance of the highest state of 

 fertility in a permanent agriculture. 



In propagating earthworms intensively in special culture 

 beds, we use them very much as we use bacterial cultures, breed- 

 ing them in high concentrations by furnishing adequate food ma- 

 terial to support vast numbers in a limited area. Fertile farm 

 and garden soil, properly handled through organic methods, will 

 easily support from one to two million or more earthworms per 



61 



