122 HARNESSING THE EARTHWORM 



lathhouses, tree shade or other shade will prove satisfactory for 

 earthworm culture setups. 



Stacking Box Cultures 



Culture boxes should not be placed flat on the ground or 

 other surface, for in such cases the worms will gradually work 

 out into the ground or gather under the damp bottom. There- 

 fore, as previously outlined, a support for the tiers of boxes 

 should be made of 2 x 6" (two pieces) material, stood on edge 

 13^4 inches apart, with cleats across ends to hold them firmly. 

 Any length base support can be provided, according to the num- 

 ber of tiers that are to be placed on the base. We favor a base 

 support to accommodate three tiers, as this size support is easily 

 handled. The tiers are thus supported six inches above the 

 ground. (For details of construction, see illustrations and line 

 drawings.) 



Setup of Earthworm Breeding Boxes 



We have given detailed drawings for box culture, with 

 descriptive instructions elsewhere. The illustration opposite 

 page 122 shows an actual photograph of two tiers of lug boxes 

 resting on base. Points to note particularly are : separators be- 

 tween boxes, to allow insertion of hose sprinkler head for water- 

 ing ; burlap sacks resting between boxes on top of separators, for 

 shade and conservation of moisture ; structure of separator ; small 

 lath hand-hold on ends of boxes; lath strips for placing cross- 

 wise in bottom of boxes ; structure of base support for the tiers. 

 A convenient size base will support three tiers. Tiers may be 

 any height, four to six boxes being best for handling. While 

 the illustration shows tiers without cover, in actual use we cover 

 the slacks with burlap sacks to keep cultures dark and to con- 

 serve moisture. 



In a setup of this kind we use approximately 500 breeders 

 to the box. We Often harvest upwards of 2,000 egg-capsules per 



