22 HARNESSING THE EARTHWORM 



the earth in preparation for the birth of life was the deposit of 

 star dust, disintegrating planets and comets, and the invisible par- 

 ticles brought to the earth by the rays of the sun and other whirl- 

 ing bodies which are scattered, like wind-blown particles of dust, 

 throughout the infinite reaches of space. 



Taking the earth as we find it, the creation of humus from 

 dead vegetation and animal life is usually a process measured in 

 terms of weeks and months, or a number of years, with one no- 

 table exception: When a requisition is put in for a few million 

 tons of humus, to be prepared over niffht for emergency plant 

 food for tomorrow, nature marshals her vast earthworm army to 

 a feast; and, behold, the miracle is accomplished the order is 

 filled and the crying children of the plant world are fed the 

 night-soil of earthworms, castings, is deposited on and near the 

 surface of the earth, ready for immediate use for earthworms 

 excrete humus. No waiting, no worry, no confusion just the 

 ordinary routine, daily transaction of business in the humus fac- 

 tories of nature. 



Earthworms are the shock-troops of nature for the jjuick. 

 production of humus while she is waiting upon her slower pro- 

 cesses. Climaxing her millions of years of experimentation, she 

 created in miniature a perfect humus mill, easily adapted to the 

 use of man. In the body of tfre earthworm we find a complete, i 

 high-speed humus^ factory^ combining all the processes both) 

 mechanical and chemical for turning out the finished product, I 

 topsoil, properly conditioned for best root growth and contain- \ 

 ing in rich proportion and in water-soluble form all the elements 

 required of the earth for plant nutrition. 



THE EARTHWORM FAMILY 



For detailed information and classification of earthworms in 

 general, we refer the reader to the voluminous writings on the 

 subject of "Earthworms" which may be found in the Zoology 

 section in the reference department of most public libraries. We 



