100 HARNESSING THE EARTHWORM 



for use. In frozen ground and manure piles and frozen compost 

 heaps, as soon as the spring thaw comes and the earth or manure 

 warms up, great numbers of capsules which have been dormant 

 will hatch out. This stability of the fertile eggs under many 

 different conditions accounts for the very wide distribution of 

 the earthworm over the earth, from the far north to the tropics, 

 from sea level to high altitudes. Capsules become dried out 

 and are carried great distances and scattered by the wind in new 

 locations. They may stick to dry soil on the hoofs or hides of 

 animals and be transported from one place to another. They 

 are sometimes swallowed by birds and fail to digest and are 

 then dropped in a new location, perhaps on a high mountain 

 or on an island of the sea, or some other out-of-the-way place 

 where it would have been impossible for a mature worm to find 

 its way. Earthworm capsules are often transported great dis- 

 tances on the roots of plants and start a colony hundreds or 

 thousands of miles from the original location. On account of 

 this stability, it is possible to produce earthworm egg-capsules 

 commercially and ship them to any part of the world, thus 

 enabling people anywhere to establish intensive earthworm cul- 

 ture for impregnation of the earth or for other purposes. 



After hatching, the young worm develops rapidly and in 

 from sixty to ninety days will reach the reproductive stage and 

 may begin to produce capsules. This does not mean that the 

 worm is fully grown in this length of time, but means that the 

 reproductive organs have reached a point of maturity where they 

 will begin to function. The egg-capsules from these young worms 

 may be almost microscopic in size and difficult to find. It will 

 usually require several months to a year for a domesticated 

 earthworm to reach full mature size, averaging about four inches 

 in length. If desired for use as fishbait, the older worms are 

 best. 



In a favorable environment an earthworm will live for many 

 years. One report was given of an observation carried out for 

 a period of fifteen years and the worm under this experiment 



