VI 



Orcharding With Earthworms 



IN THE story of "My Grandfather's Earthworm Farm" George 

 Sheffield is quoted as saying, in regard to the care of trees, 

 "Never disturb the soil under a tree." The wisdom of this re- 

 mark is appreciated fully only when a study is made of the 

 subject of orcharding. When we go to nature where primeval 

 forests have stood for centuries, we find the ground riddled to 

 great depth by earthworm burrows. Earthworms like to work in 

 the shade, among the fine roots of trees, finding sustenance in 

 the organic debris and bacterial life of the soil, in the dead bac- 

 teria as well as the products of bacterial life. Aside from vege- 

 tation, there is a vast world of unseen bacterial life in the soil, 

 amounting in aggregate weight in the case of fertile agricultural 

 lands to much more than all animal life which crawls, creeps, 

 walks, runs, and flies on and above the surface of the ground. 

 Because we do not see this microscopic universe, we may not 

 visualize or sense its extent. 



The multiplication of bacteria is so rapid that, starting with 

 a single cell, under favorable conditions, the numbers will reach 

 astronomical figures within a few hours, with a bulk and weight 

 of such magnitude that the human mind cannot grasp the total. 

 The number of bacteria in an ounce of fertile topsoil is variously 

 estimated as from eighteen million to twenty-four billion. When 

 we consider that bacteria appear as dots under the microscope 



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