142 HARNESSING THE EARTHWORM 



terial from the first screening is passed through a quarter-inch 

 screen. The earthworm castings with the egg-capsules will now 

 be found in the very fine screenings. The coarser material that 

 does not pass through the quarter-inch screen is remixed with 

 new compost. The harvest thus proceeds, the material being re- 

 moved layer by layer, down to the sub-surface divider. The 

 mature breeder-worms will continue to work downward and take 

 refuge in their permanent burrows below the sub-surface divider. 



Reloading the Egg-nest 



Fresh, fine compost, the same as the original material, is 

 now mixed with the screenings from the harvest, and the egg- 

 nest is filled, wet down, and covered, just as the original bed 

 was prepared. The routine of harvesting is carried out every 

 two or three weeks. With simple care as outlined, by using the 

 increase to build additional culture beds, a battery of producing 

 units can very quickly be built up and thus a controlled produc- 

 tion setup for impregnating extensive ground, or for commercial 

 use, will be established. 



Use of Egg-Capsules and Earthworm Castings 



The material harvested from the Earthmaster Culture Bed 

 is composed of earthworm castings, fine particles of compost, and 

 also contains the egg-capsules. It is not necessary to pick out 

 the capsules in order to use them. That is only necessary where 

 they are to be counted and sold. The harvested material is used 

 for potting plants, in flower beds, around trees, in the yard or 

 garden. Wherever a handful of this material is used, a nu- 

 merous earthworm colony is established, gradually to increase 

 and impregnate the earth in an ever-widening circle from the 

 original point of impregnation. Thus, by seeding the flower pots, 

 flower beds, the earth around shrubs and trees, yard and gar- 

 den, an adequate earthworm population is rapidly built up to 

 enrich and condition the earth for all time to come. 



