November 23, 1882. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
489 
HOME FARM 
POULTRY AND PIGEON CHRONICLE. 
NEGLECTED PASTURES AND WASTE LANDS. 
( Continued from page 467.) 
In Mr. C. Darwin’s work on worms there is given an excellent 
account of the formation of vegetable mould through the action 
of worms, and with observations on their habits. He says :— 
“ Worms prepare the ground in an excellent manner for the growth 
of fibrous-rooted plants and for seedlings of all kinds. They 
periodically expose the mould to the air and sift it, so that no 
stones larger than the particles which they can swallow are left 
in it. They mingle the whole intimately together like a gardener 
who prepares fine soil for his choicest plants. In this state it is 
well fitted to retain moisture and to absorb all soluble substances, 
as well as for the process of nitrification. The bones of dead 
animals, the harder parts of insects, the shells of land molluscs, 
leaves, twigs, &c., are before long buried beneath the accumulated 
castings of worms, and are thus brought in a more or less decayed 
state within reach of the roots of plants. Worms likewise drag 
an infinite number of dead leaves and other parts of plants into 
their burrows, partly for the sake of plugging them up and partly 
as food. The leaves which are dragged into the burrows as food, 
after being torn into the finest shreds, partly digested, and satu¬ 
rated with the intestinal and urinary secretions, are commingled 
with much earth. This earth forms the dark-coloured rich humus 
which almost everywhere covers the surface of the land with a 
fairly well-defined layer or mantle. Von Heusen placed two 
worms in a vessel 18 inches in diameter, which was filled with 
sand, on which fallen leaves were strewed, and these were soon 
dragged into their burrows to a depth of 3 inches. After about 
six weeks an almost uniform layer of sand 4 inches in thickness 
was converted into humus by having passed through the alimen¬ 
tary canals of these two worms. It is believed by some persons 
that worm burrows, which often penetrate the ground almost 
perpendicularly to a depth of 5 or 6 feet, materially aid in its 
drainage, notwithstanding that the viscid castings are piled over the 
mouths of the burrows, prevent or check the rain water directly 
entering them. They allow the air to penetrate deeply into the 
ground. They also greatly facilitate the downward passage of 
roots of moderate size, and these will be nourished by the humus 
with which the burrows are lined. Many seeds owe their germina¬ 
tion to having been covered by castings ; and others, buried to a 
considerable depth beneath accumulated castings, lie dormant, 
until at some future time they are accidentally uncovered and 
germinate.” 
These combined scientific and practical statements are of im¬ 
mense value to the farmer in considering the question of forming 
or renovating pasture lands, for after taking into account that the 
worms are a factor in the matter, we should endeavour in our 
management to facilitate their operations, and how to effect this 
we shall explain further on. 
Quotations have already been given from Mr. Darwin’s work 
on worms, and the whole subject is so truthfully displayed by 
him that we strongly advise the home farmer and gentlemen 
having landed property, and especially grazing and parklands, to 
obtain the work. But considering as we do the importance of 
the subject, we will make a quotation which fitly concludes with 
a paragraph summing up in a few words the result of nearly half 
a century’s observation and research as follows : — “ When we 
behold a wide turf-covered expanse we should remember that its 
smoothness, on which so much of its beauty depends, is mainly 
due to all the inequalities having been slowly levelled by worms. 
It is a marvellous reflection that the whole of the superficial 
mould over any such expanse has passed, and will again pass, 
every few years through the bodies of worms. The plough is one 
of the most ancient and most valuable of man’s inventions, but 
long before he existed the land was, in fact, regularly ploughed, 
and still continues to be thus ploughed, by earthworms. It may 
be doubted whether there are many other animals which have 
played so important a part in the history of the _ world as these 
lowly-organised creatures.” 
In our practice connected with the improvement of neglected 
pastures, which has extended over a period of more than fifty 
years, we find that during the greater part of that time we have 
been unconsciously acting in accordance with Mr. Darwin’s views 
—that is to say, our chief object has been to encourage the work¬ 
ing of the worms, and we have studiously endeavoured to follow 
such plans and use such manures as would most conduce to their 
operations. One of the first experiments we ever tried was the 
improvement of some strong clay land where the earth had for 
some years been removed from the surface for tidal embankment 
purposes. This land had lain for more than twenty years as 
waste, producing nothing better than Carex, commonly called 
Carnation Grass, black bents, and a few other worthless grasses 
which neither dairy cows or sheep would eat. It was upon this 
land that we made our first experiment in order to ascertain the 
value of couch and the earth adhering to it, laid out on waste 
land as fast as the carts were filled with it without the labour of 
rolling or harrowing, to make it fit to burn. The couch in this 
instance was laid out at the rate of about-18 or 20 tons per acre 
and spread immediately. This was the means used to induce the 
earthworms to work on the surface, as we had always noticed 
how much earthy composts induced them to cast up earth and 
draw into their burrows any fragments of vegetation with great 
benefit to the turf, but more especially upon the poorest pastures. 
This experiment was made the groundwork of our future pro¬ 
ceedings in the manuring of grass land, which we found deficient 
in herbage, for the result being that the couch in the green state 
as it was, actually proved more beneficial than farmyard manure 
which we had frequently laid out on poor or neglected pasture 
land. We found the worms worked incessantly, and drew in 
every stem and blade of couch in a very short time, and after a 
second application at the expiration of three years the pasture 
was wonderfully improved, for the grasses and Clovers indigenous 
to the soil began to appear, and it is to this day extremely useful 
dairy pasture, although the late tenant never dressed it at all for 
a period of nine or ten years. 
In another position we had a well-situated park-like pasture, 
a portion of which (about 4 acres) was extremely wet, being on 
a subsoil of strong clayey gravel, and it was rendered very inferior 
grass land in consequence of beiDg greatly encumbered with 
Rushes of two sorts. The Bunch Rushes which had formed into 
hassocks were easily got rid of by cutting up with the turf-cutter 
and burned ; but not so the small Rushes, which run under the 
surface and throw up their stems from every knot in the roots, 
somewhat like the growth of couch grass. It is impossible to 
eradicate these entirely without file or pipe, draining the land, 
breaking up the turf, and resorting to cultivation, in order that 
the land may be chalked or limed, this being the basis of all 
successful cultivation on strong soils, whether intended for arable 
or pasture in the future. These matters determined us upon a 
course of cultivation, as all other attempts at improvement had 
failed. We ploughed off the turf rather shallow and burnt it into 
ashes in very large heaps, a portion only of which we used and 
ploughed into the soil. These contained so much of the elements, 
as well as the basis of manures, especially potash, that we never 
used any other manure except chalk, whilst for four years the 
land was under a succession of corn crops, which yielded a most 
abundant produce both of corn and straw. The large quantity of 
ashes we obtained enabled us not only to apply each year a 
portion of them to the land where they were burned, but we had 
also a supply which furnished enough for use on the other farm 
crops applied with the drill, especially the root crops, such as 
Mangolds, Carrots, and Potatoes. 
After four years’ cultivation this land was clean and fit for 
laying down for permanent pasture, and as we had found the land 
so fertile we did not hesitate to seed it in a corn crop of April 
Wheat, which, although it produced as much straw as could be 
grown, it never injured the seeds, which took remarkably well. 
The seeds, however, were furnished by a local seedsman as a 
proper mixture for such lands. As we did not then understand the 
matter sufficiently to enable us to select the best sorts, we insisted 
