TECHNICAL DISCUSSION 159 



pies were taken at edge of timber just in the open. Casts were numerous 

 and well denned. (In the woods, casts prevailed, but it would have been 

 difficult to find unworked material.) 



II. Middletown, private property. Southington stony fine sandy loam. 

 Principally white oak, with black oak, hickory, sugar maple, and other 

 species. Casts were so numerous it was difficult to be sure of unworked 

 soil. (Subsequent analyses, however, showed a marked difference in proper- 

 ties of the casts as compared with the surrounding soil mass.) 



III. Meshomasic State Forest, Portland. Hinsdale stony fine sandy 

 loam. Mixed hardwoods consisting principally of red oak, chestnut oak, 

 white oak, dogwood, and sugar maple. Abundant casts. 



IV. Middlefield, private property. Southington stony fine sandy loam. 

 Mixed hardwoods, consisting of white, red, and chestnut oaks, hickory, 

 sugar maple, dogwood, sassafras, and hemlock. Casts were abundant. 



Quantitative measurements of the number of casts produced 

 throughout the year or of the number of earthworms were not 

 attempted, nor was identification of the worms as to species. A 

 rough estimate indicated that, at the time of sampling, the casts 

 in the field numbered approximately three to the square foot and 

 weighed 2 ounces apiece, which amounted to about 129,000 per 

 acre and a weight of 160,000 pounds. 



RESULTS 



Data pertaining to the analyses of the casts and soil from 

 the cultivated field are given in table 1. In most cases agreement 

 between samples from several parts of the field was good, and 

 differences between horizons were considerably greater than were 

 differences between samples from the same horizon. In nearly all 

 cases the casts showed higher values than the 0-6 inch layer, 

 which in turn were higher than those of the 8-16-inch depth. 

 Greatest differences were found in available phosphorus and ex- 

 changeable potassium and magnesium, the increases in the casts 

 over the surrounding topsoil ranging from threefold to eleven- 

 fold. Even the nitrogen, organic carbon, and total calcium figures 

 are obviously highly significant, the differences being 35 to 50 

 per cent. The lower clay content of the casts may or may not 



