98 HARNESSING THE EARTHWORM 



two or three to as high as twenty fertile eggs. In a moist, warm 

 environment, the incubating period is from two to three weeks. 



The newborn worms first appear as whitish bits of thread, 

 about one-quarter inch long or smaller. They gradually become 

 darker within a few hours and within a few days can be readily 

 identified as tiny, reddish-colored earthworms. To the untrained 

 eye, the newborn worms are visible only after a careful search 

 for them. Except for size, they are hatched as full-fledged earth- 

 worms and immediately begin their life-work of devouring earth 

 with all it contains, digesting and utilizing the organic food 

 material from the ingested earth, and finally depositing the residue 

 on or near the surface as castings. 



While the newborn worms are hard to see, there is no dif- 

 ficulty in identifying the egg-capsules. The color is usually 

 radically different from that of the soil, varying from light 

 lemon color in freshly passed capsules to a dark purple in cap- 

 sules nearing maturity and ready to hatch. Size varies, depending 

 on the size of the worm from which they come, ranging from 

 the size of a pin-head to about the size of a grain of rice. A 

 handful of earth from a properly prepared culture box may con- 

 tain several dozen capsules. 



While the normal incubating period at right temperature 

 has been stated to be from two to three weeks, this period may 

 be extended almost indefinitely by drying out the capsules or by 

 refrigeration. Under ordinary conditions of temperature and 

 moisture as found in the earth at the time the capsules are 

 produced, they will incubate and hatch within the normal period. 

 On the other hand, if the capsules happen to be subjected to 

 the heat of the sun and dry out, or are dried purposely for 

 preservation, they may remain dormant and fertile for months 

 and then swell and develop under proper temperature and 

 moisture. Capsules have been reported to have hatched out after 

 lying dormant for eighteen months. Also, capsules may be placed 

 in refrigeration at temperatures ranging from fifty degrees and 

 lower, and thus kept dormant and fertile until they are desired 



