124 HARNESSING THE EARTHWORM 



2 x 4" posts and 1 x 6" planking. No nails are used. The side 

 members of the bed, beginning at bottom, are set in place one 

 at a time, followed by the end member, which interlocks between 

 to hold the side member in place. Pressure of the compost ma- 

 teria! keeps all members in place. The compost is built up layer 

 by layer. 



Bottom aiid Drainage 



In composting with earthworms, good drainage is of prime 

 importance. To accomplish this, we place on the ground as 

 bottom of the bed a layer of four to six inches of coarse sand 

 or gravel, evenly spread, and on top of this we place a layer of 

 1 x 6" boards, spaced apart about one-half to one inch. This 

 makes the bed mole and gopher proof. Also one main purpose 

 of the bottom boards is to allow unloading of the finished com- 

 post with a shovel, without digging into the sand layer which 

 is placed there for permanent drainage. In unloading the broken- 

 down compost, the end members of this culture bed may be pried 

 out one at a time, thus exposing one open end of the bed and 

 allowing the shoveling of the contents of bed into wheelbarrow 

 or other carrying device for distribution to flower beds, lawn, 

 or other place of final disposition. 



Depth of Bed 



While the width and length of the bed may be varied, larger 

 or smaller, as desired, the depth should be maintained at about 

 twenty-four inches. Earthworms are air-breathing animals 

 and must have plenty of air for best results. A depth of about 

 two feet allows for good aeration at all times. Also in watering 

 a culture bed of this depth it is not difficult to keep the entire 

 contents of the bed thoroughly moist from top to bottom. This 

 is very important in securing best results in earthworm culture. 

 Originally earthworms were water animals and their bodies have 



