EARTHWORM CULTURE 123 



month from each box. We use the increase for impregnating 

 large compost breeding beds, flower beds, lawns, or other land. 

 From this it will be seen that a setup of from five to ten cul- 

 ture boxes will quickly develop vast numbers of worms. 



UTILITY EARTHWORM CULTURE BED 



Soil-Building Culture Beds 



In our methods for developing earthworm culture, we use 

 lug-box setup for rapid production of earthworm eggs, harvest 

 the eggs from the boxes once every thirty days, and use the in- 

 crease to impregnate large compost beds for soil-building and 

 for development of vast numbers of earthworms. In harvesting 

 the increase from the culture boxes, it is not necessary to com- 

 plete the work on a particular date. The incubation period of 

 the egg-capsules is from fourteen to twenty-one days; there- 

 fore, if the harvesting operations are carried out every twenty-one 

 to thirty days, practically all the increase is recovered. 



We present two designs for large compost culture beds 

 the first design illustrated in the four detailed drawings on the 

 next page and the more complicated design illustrated by pic- 

 tures and detailed construction plans of the "Earthmaster" culture 

 bed which is shown in following pages. The plan with posts 

 set in the ground is the simplest and most practical for the 

 average earthworm farmer. 



Variation m Size 



In the knockdown construction, the size of the bed may be 

 varied larger or smaller as desired by the particular individual, 

 to suit the available space and the extent of the land to be 

 eventually impregnated. The important . point to note is the 

 way the 2 x 4" posts are spaced to make the interlocking corners. 

 As will be seen from the pictures, the bed is constructed of 



