EARTHWORMS IN GENERAL FARMING 75 



of them fifty feet high and each tree bearing a different kind 

 of fruit. In the four acres of orchard and garden surrounding 

 the house there was produced a great variety of fruit, furnishing 

 an abundance, in season, for the family as well as for many of 

 the neighbors. In those days the fruit was not sold. I remem- 

 ber an often-repeated remark of my grandfather upon the care 

 of trees, especially fruit trees. He said, "Never disturb the soil 

 under a tree. The earthworm is the best plow for a tree and 

 I do not want them disturbed." The vegetable garden was espe- 

 cially fine, kept wonderfully enriched from the compost pit, the 

 soil being literally alive with earthworms. A profusion of flowers, 

 both potted and otherwise, as well as a wealth of shrubbery, 

 beautified the place. For choice flowers, we would use a rich 

 mixture of fine soil and material from the compost pit. 



My grandfather's earthworm farm furnishes an example of 

 the technique for utilizing the earthworm in general farming 

 operations, either on a large or small scale. From my observa- 

 tions as a small boy, supplemented by much friendly and loving 

 instruction from my grandfather on the subject of earthworms, 

 and from more than forty years' experience in my own work, I 

 am fully convinced that the harnessing of the earthworm will 

 be one of the major factors in the eventual salvation of the soil. 

 I know that the soil can be made to produce several times as much 

 as the present average, through the utilization of the earthworm. 



