82 HARNESSING THE EARTHWORM 



weeds. Also the shade conserves surface moisture and this fa- 

 vors the development of a large earthworm population. 



In the case of Mr. Hinckley, there was no special propaga- 

 tion of earthworms. He simply created a favorable environment 

 for the development of the native earthworm population, discon- 

 tinued plowing and breaking up their breeding grounds, provided 

 cover for the worms in the form of leaf-drop raked underneath 

 the drip of the tree, and the worms began to multiply. After 

 a few years this grove has become one vast earthworm culture 

 bed. At the time this chapter is written, Mr. Hinckley's orchard 

 is over fifty years old and is in greater production than ever be- 

 fore, whereas at the time the new method was started the grove 

 was twenty-eight years old and was not showing a profit. In 

 fact, it was going back. 



In orcharding with the aid of earthworms, a small, highly 

 productive, long-lived orchard, with top quality fruit, lower labor 

 costs, less fertilizer costs, and the practical elimination of culls, 

 can be made to take the place of a much larger acreage under 

 the generally accepted cultural methods. Through earthworm cul- 

 ture, young groves can be brought to profitable production in 

 a much shorter period of time than by the old methods ; and 

 the life of a grove, with earthworms instead of plows, extends 

 far beyond the life of a grove where the earthworms are 

 constantly retarded in their development by frequent ploughing. 

 And where heavy use of chemical fertilizers is the practice, the 

 earthworm population may entirely disappear, and, in addition, 

 the highly important bacterial life of the soil be inhibited. 



The quickest method for developing earthworms in orchards 

 is to establish generous colonies of "domesticated earthworms" 

 under each tree, with organic fertilization similar to that used 

 on "My Grandfather's Earthworm Farm." By this method the 

 proliferation of earthworms is accelerated many times beyond 

 anything found in nature. Within a few months results may 

 be obtained which would otherwise require years. Methods for 



