146 



EARTH-WORM. 



fishermen, who use it as bait, much as the earth- 

 worm is used by fresh-water anglers. Parties of 

 boys may be seen, armed with spades and boxes, 

 trudging knee-deep in the muddy sand-flats, as 

 soon as the tide goes out, in full search after logs, 

 as they call the worms. Although the shape of 

 this worm is not very beautiful, yet it is not 

 utterly devoid of some beautiful features; for 

 the double row of scarlet branchiae, or lung tufts 

 that fringe the central portions of the creature, 

 are remarkable for their brilliant tints. 



While speaking of this worm, and its repre- 

 sentative, the earth-worm, I may as well mention 

 that the popular idea of the multiplication of the 

 earth-worm by division is quite erroneous. The 

 general notion on this subject is that if an earth- 

 worm be cut in two near the middle, the divided 

 portions reproduce those organs which they have 

 lost, and so in a short time the earth is richer by 

 one more worm than before. This notion, how- 

 ever, is untrue. The severed worm seldom seems 

 to recover in the least from its wound, although 

 the portion on which is placed the head survives 

 longer than that to which the tail is attached. 

 The ring next to the wound very soon dies, con- 

 tracts, withers, and drops off by mortification. 

 The next ring is then attacked in the same way, 



