1304 
Qhe RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
September G, 1919 
All Sorts 
Do Angleworms “Rain Down”? 
Many curious questions come to your 
desk, and you seem to find an answer to 
most of them. Perhaps you can answer 
one that has puzzled me for some time. 
One of the old fogy notions, long ago 
laughed out of existence by scientific men, 
was that earthworms, or angleworms, as 
they are often called, rained down from 
the sky, this belief resulting from the 
fact that they are very numerous on the 
surface of the ground after a rain. Of 
course we know 1 now that they come up 
from the earth. I raise poultry and often 
have various dishes sitting around out of 
doors, and have several times after a 
rain which would fill or partly fill these 
dishes with -water, found some of these 
angleworms inside. How do they get 
there? These are enamelware dishes, 
holding from two to five quarts, with 
flaring sides and a recurved rim. The 
worms are unable to make the slightest 
headway toward getting out of these 
dishes, even with the slope in their favor, 
and it seems impossible that they should 
crawl in. up the overhanging side and 
over the rim. They certainly cannot fly. 
so I cannot see any other way but that 
they rained .down. A few mornings ago 
I found six worms in such a dish, all 
rather small, about 1 in. to 1% in. long. 
This dish was set out in the open, and I 
know it was clean and empty the night 
before, as I had used it to wash a setting 
of eggs in a colony house near by, then 
emptied the water and set it down care¬ 
fully to get some idea how much it would 
rain before morning. H. F. A. 
Northboro, Mass. 
Origin of Species.—A fact regarding 
animal life that has an important bear¬ 
ing on this question is simply and clearly 
stated in the very first chapter of Genesis. 
For the sake of those who may not be 
entirely familiar with this chapter we 
quote the passage referred to. It runs as 
follows: “And God made the beast of the 
earth after his kind, and cattle after their 
kind, and everything that creepeth upon 
the earth after his kind; and God said 
that it was good.” To express this in an¬ 
other way is to say that the eggs of a 
queen honeybee develop into honeybees 
and not into wasps; that the eggs of a 
trout develop into trout and not into 
hass. and that the eggs of an earthworm 
develop into earthworms and not into 
snakes. As was said in Genesis, so can 
it now be said with even greater certainty 
that everything that creepeth upon the 
earth brings forth only the living crea¬ 
tures niter its kind. Moreover, oil life 
comes from some life Hint went before. 
That is. animals and plants do not arise 
from nothing, as it were. Earthworms 
cannot arise in the air from gases, or par¬ 
ticles of dust, or from any other lifeless 
objects that may be floating above the 
earth. They can only arise from eggs 
deposited by other earthworms right here 
on the earth.. The eggs of earthworms 
are enclosed in a sort of sac or capsule 
and left in the loose earth, or under logs 
or stones. Here they hatch and the young 
worms begin and end their lives in the 
soil. To sum up then, since earthworms 
can only be produced by other earth¬ 
worms and cannot rise spontaneously 
from lifeless particles floating above the 
earth, we must conclude that they cannot 
originate nor live in the air, and there¬ 
fore cannot rain down from the sky. But, 
persists the doubting Thomas, why do 
they appear in such great numbers after 
a rain, and how did those worms get into 
the dishes? 
Multitudes of Worms. —Nearly half 
a century ago that great Englishman, 
Charles Darwin, wrote a whole book on 
the insignificant earthworm, and a most 
interesting book it is. Darwin showed 
conclusively that this creature exerts a 
profound effect upon the soil. That, in 
fact, it exists in the soil in unsuspected 
and enormous numbers, and that through 
its activities it actually brings up from 
below and adds to the surface of the 
earth from an inch to an inch and a half 
of fine, rich soil every 10 years. We are 
told by another authority that from ac¬ 
tual count he finds there may be as many 
as 53.767 worms to an acre of garden 
soil. These facts are cited simply to 
show that these creatures are everywhere 
in the soil in enormous numbers. But 
although they exist everywhere in the 
earth, yet they must have moisture in 
order to live and thrive, and they delight 
in a wet soil and a moist atmosphere. 
The skin of an earthworm is so thin and 
delicate that a few hours of warm dry air 
and hot sun will evaporate the liquids 
within the body and the worm will shrink, 
shrivel and die like a plant deprived of 
-water. Therefore, after a warm rain in 
Spring literally thousands of them crawl 
from their holes and wander about over 
the soft, warm, wet soil to revel in the 
humid atmosphere in which they so de¬ 
light. In the light of these facts it is not 
surprising or mysterious that so many of 
them appear on the surface after a rain. 
They are there in their burrows in the 
soil, the conditions are exactly suited to 
their needs and desires; what is more 
natural than that they should come out 
of their holes and go joy-crawling over 
the earth? It is just as natural as it is 
for a boy to go fishing in the Spring. 
Thus it is that perfectly simple, natural 
facts, when known and understood, fur¬ 
nish the answer to our first question, why 
earthworms appear in such numbers after 
a rain. 
Anatomical Structure. —The second 
question regarding the earthworms in the 
enameled dish appears to be a poser. 
But let us study the structure of an 
earthworm a bit and see if this cannot 
also be explained by some simple, natural 
facts. An insignificant earthworm, after 
all, has a very definite structure which 
fits it admirably for the* life it leads. Its 
body is furnished with two sets or layers 
of most wonderful muscles, one layer 
consisting of long fibers that run length¬ 
wise of the body, and another layer con¬ 
sisting of shorter fibers that run around 
or encircle the body. In addition to these 
two layers of muscles, which are chiefly 
responsible for the wriggling and crawl¬ 
ing movements of the worm, there are, 
running the whole length of the body, four 
double rows of short, stiff spines. Two of 
the double rows of spines, which are along 
the underside of the body, may be plainly 
Ready for n Good Catch 
felt when a worm is drawn across the 
palm of the hand. Thus when the earth¬ 
worm is on the surface of the soil the 
spines on the underside of the body stick 
into the uneven places of the earth and 
hold the creature from slipping backward 
while the muscles, of which we have 
spoken, enable it to stretch out long and 
thin in a forward direction, and then pull 
up short and thick, thus moving slowly 
ahead by alternately expanding and con¬ 
tracting the body. The other rows of 
spines, of which there is one on each side 
of the body, stick into the walls of the 
worm’s burrow and thus serve to aid the 
creature in crawling upward out of its 
hole. Now, what is the significance of 
all these muscles and spines in relation 
to the earthworms in those enameled 
dishes? Briefly, it is as follows: 
IIow A Worm Climbs. —If an earth¬ 
worm finds itself on a smooth, hard sur¬ 
face, like glass, or an enameled dish, it 
cannot move forward because there are 
no rough, uneven places in which the 
creature can stick its spiny “legs” and 
obtain a foothold to prevent its body from 
slipping backward while it pushes out 
long and thin in a forward direction. It 
can wriggle on the glass, but it cannot 
progress either forward or backward. It 
is like a horse in an old-fashioned tread¬ 
mill—the horse can make its leg6 go, but 
it can’t get anywhere. This will explain, 
then, why the worms didn't crawl—in¬ 
deed, couldn’t crawl—out of the enameled 
dish back to the soil from whence they 
came. The question how the worms got 
into the dish still remains. But this is 
easy to answer now that we know how 
well fitted this animal is to perform 
acrobatic stunts so long as its “feet” are 
on the ground. Those wonderful muscles 
and handy spines again come into play, 
and enable the worm to accomplish the 
feat of climbing into the dish. A worm 
can elevate the front part of its body, 
force it up the side of such a dish, reach 
over the edge, and push itself, as it were, 
into the dish, provided the hinder part of 
the body with its rows of spines can ob¬ 
tain a foothold. Thus the thing is ac¬ 
complished and the seeming mystery is 
robbed of its mysteriousness. 
Now that we have finally succeeded in 
getting the earthworms into the dish from 
which they cannot crawl out. I shall leave 
them there, for the Hope Farm man. I 
fear, is already accusing me of having 
written a lot of words without having 
said anything. glenn W. herrick. 
More About Cooking Fish 
P5tewed Fish. —Prepare the fish, place 
in a stew pan with a bay leaf, some small 
onions, tomatoes—either fresh or canned 
—butter, pepper and salt. Cover with 
hot water and stew gently until the fish 
is cooked. Take out the fish and keep it 
hot; thicken the liquid with cornstarch or 
flour, boil for a few minutes longer, pour 
over the fish and serve very hot. This 
manner of cooking is also extremely good 
for eels. Enough bay leaves for several 
seasons can be purchased for a nickel. 
Trout Chowder. —Any fresh water 
fish, and also canned fish, may he substi¬ 
tuted in this recipe. Into a kettle—an 
iron pot is best—put one-quarter pound 
of salt pork cut into tiny dice (bacon 
may be used and is better if the fish is of 
strong flavor), two or three small onions 
quaTffered and sliced and let fry gently 
until golden brown. Do not burn or the 
chowder is spoiled before fairly started. 
Add one quart of potatoes cut into dice 
and sufficient boiling water to just cover 
them. If raw fish is used, skin, cut into 
neat pieces, removing all bones possible, 
and lay on top of the potatoes. Salt and 
pepper, and let. boil very gently 
one-half hour. Then add one quart 
of milk and a big piece of butter. 
Thicken slightly with cracker dust 
—a good plan is to cut the portion of 
butter in small bits, roll each in cracker 
dust and add to the chowder, then the 
cracker will not lump. Serve very hot 
with old-fashioned pilot biscuit. If 
canned or cooked fish is used, separate 
from skin, bones and liquor, and add 
pieces of fish to chowder two minutes 
before serving, as it is necessary to sim¬ 
ply heat the cooked fish through. Some 
cooks boil the fish bones 15 or 20 minutes 
and use the liquor in place of the hot 
water to pour over the potatoes. This 
makes it unnecessary to use thickening. 
Sewed Carp. —On account of its strong 
flavor carp is stewed in a different man¬ 
ner. Scale the fish and clean well. Cut 
into hiedium-sized pieces and let lie for 
half an hour or more in a stewpan con¬ 
taining chopped onions and herbs, pepper 
and salt, until the fish absorbs the flavors. 
Brown a generous piece of butter or drip¬ 
ping in a saucepan, dredge the pieces of 
fish with flour and place them in the but¬ 
ter for five minutes. Add milk thickened 
with cornstarch and let the mixture stew 
gently until done. In stewing trout it 
is better to substitute delicate flavors, 
such as lemon peel and nutmeg, for onions 
and herbs. 
Fried Fish. —Frying fish is the most 
common way of preparing it for the table. 
All kinds of fish are good fried—whole, if 
small, or if large cut in slices or split 
down the back, cutting out the bone. 
Cornmeal is the best medium for absorb¬ 
ing the moisture and assuring a crisp 
brown coating. The fat may be butter, 
lard, savory fat or any of the vegetable 
frying compounds. It should be hot when 
the fish is put in. but should not smoke. 
When fat smokes it is a sign of chemical 
changes in its nature from the intense 
heat. Acrid, irritating substances, such 
as acreolin, are set free, which injure the 
lining membranes of the stomach. Re¬ 
member that fried food is not indigestible 
unless these acrid substances have been 
liberated in the fat in which it was 
fried. A large fish of the coarse varieties 
should be prepared for frying as follows: 
Scale, scrape and wash the fish thor¬ 
oughly inside and out. until every trace 
of sliminess is gone and the flesh gives a 
sort of resistance to the touch. Then rub 
a large handful of salt, into the fish, both 
inside and out. and hang it up by the 
head for 24 hours in a cool place. When 
wanted for use, cut off the head, cut in 
slices about 1^4 inches thick, roll each 
slice in flour or meal, and fry a nice 
brown. Serve very hot, with a piquant 
sauce, if desired. 
Baked Fish. —Prepare the fish, skin¬ 
ning it if preferred, and making three 
cuts in the back just through the hack- 
bone. Those prevent the fish from cur¬ 
ling up as it heats. Rub the baking pan 
well with a cut onion, place in it six or 
eight thin slices of bacon or salt pork, 
lay the fish on it and pour in one-half 
cup of hot water. Salt and pepper the 
fish, cover the upper side with cracker or 
bread crumbs, well dotted with butter. 
A Useful Cat 
Here is the picture of an Ohio cat. He 
is six years old, does not catch chickens 
and birds, but is always after rats and 
field mice, the latter being his specialty. 
Some persons like grated cheese sprinkled 
over the crumbs, while other like strips of 
bacon or salt pork. These should be cut 
very thin so they will get crisp and brown 
ns the baking progresses. Bake for about 
an hour with moderate heat, or until a 
milky fluid comes out, when the flesh is 
parted with a fork. As the liquid on the 
fish is reduced, baste it with hot water 
that has been poured into a pan contain¬ 
ing a little butter. This is the most 
satisfactory liquid for basting either 
meats or fish. Serve very hot, with or 
without a sauce. 
Broiled Fish. —There are many ways 
of broiling fish, beginning with the sim¬ 
ple, time-honored way of impaling them 
on n green stick. After cleaning, the 
fish should be cross cut on each side with 
a sharp knife, laid in oil or melted fat 
of some kind, seasoned with salt and pep¬ 
per, and broiled on a wire broiler over a 
good bed of coals. Turn often; when 
done through on both sides, serve hot. 
River Clams or Mussels.—T hese are 
sometimes eaten, but most persons com¬ 
plain of a flat or “muddy” taste. It i» 
probnble that this could be avoided by 
soaking them in a weak brine (about a 
teaspoonful or a little more salt to a 
quart of water ) for an hour before cook¬ 
ing. Such treatment seems to improve 
the flavor of many kinds of fresh-water 
fish. 
Smoking Fish. —Fish are rather hard 
to keep long after smoking unless they 
are salted heavily and smoked a long 
time. Most kinds will keep a few days 
or a week or two in cool weather by one 
of the mild curing processes. In this the 
fish after being thoroughly cleaned are 
soaked from a few hours to a few days 
in a mild brine and then smoked. If they 
are to be cooked after smoking they can 
be cured a few hours or longer in a cool 
smoke. If the smoking is to prepare them 
£or the table they should he cool smoked 
until cured about enough, and then the 
fire stirred up to cook them for an hour 
or more. In smoking eels the usual test 
is to tear off a piece of skin to tell 
whether it is cooked enough. 
Wayne Co., N. Y. Alfred c. weed. 
A Queer Water Creature 
Could you give me some information 
about a creature that is common in Lake 
Ontario, called a lizard here? It gets 
quite large, and is often caught on night 
lines; presume it is found In all of the 
great lakes. Would like to know the cor¬ 
rect name, life history, etc., of this ani¬ 
mal. n. a. H. 
Barker. N. Y. 
Fishermen in the northeastern part of 
the United States, especially in the Great 
Lakes Basin, often catch an animal they 
call mud puppy, lizard, water dog, dog¬ 
fish or some similar name. It is usually 
about a foot long, but may reach a length 
of two feet. The skin is smooth and 
slimy. The tail is shaped something like 
that of an eel. It has four short legs, 
which look something like the front legs 
of a frog. The head is broad and flat, 
with a wide mouth, and with a pair of 
“ears” set back almost at the sides of 
the neck. Altogether it is not very 
pleasant to look at. When placed in 
water the animal may swim about for a 
few minutes, but will soon come to rest 
on the bottom and lie there quietly, its 
only motion being the gentle waving of 
the “ears.” These will then be seen to 
be divided into three parts at the ends, 
and to have a pinkish fringe hanging 
from them. They are the gills of the 
animal, which is a batrachian. a relative 
of the frogs, toads and salamanders. 
Scientists call this creature Necturus 
maculosus. the first name from two Greek 
words meaning “a swimmer” and “a tail.” 
the second from a Latin word meaning 
spotted. In Spring or early Summer 
they lay eggs, which soon hatch into 
small mud puppies very much like their 
parents. They feed on fish, fish eggs and 
on other water creatures. Many fisher¬ 
men fear them greatly, and think them 
poisonous, but the only harm they can 
do is to pinch hard enough with their 
strong teeth to be very unpleasant, and 
perhaps to draw blood. Many game fish 
can do as much harm to a finger that is 
carelessly left where they can reach it. 
Their flesh is beautifully firm, white and 
fine-grained, and some eat them and con¬ 
sider them very good. I have never had 
a chance to try their food qualities, but 
should expect them to be of the same 
quality and flavor as the- frogs from the 
same water. If I ever get a chance I 
expect to try cooked necturus. 
Wayne Co., N. Y. Alfred c. w t eed. . 
Hiving Wild Bees 
In the second week of May we caught 
a big swarm of bees, and knowing nothing 
about them, except what my wife told me. 
we put them in a box 10x17x22 in. with 
two sticks inside forming a cross. What, 
shall I do in the late Summer or Fall to 
get the honey out and yet save the bees? 
My idea is to make another box of same 
size, and in late August turn the bees up¬ 
side down, put the other box over it and 
let the bees crawl up again. Would they 
then still make enough honey to keep 
them over Winter? I do not want comb 
honey, but for extracting. What kind of 
bees are they? I enclose one. j. j. s. 
Gladstone, N. ,T. 
I am afraid that you cannot take the 
honey away from these bees in the Fall 
and yet keep them through the Winter. 
They may store more than enough for 
their own support, hut it will be difficult 
to remove the surplus from your box hive 
without destroying the rest. It was for¬ 
merly the custom to kill the bees in such 
boxes in the Fall by placing the box with¬ 
out its bottom over a pit in which a little 
sulphur was burned. This method se¬ 
cured the honey, but. of course, destroyed 
the bees, and some colonies had to be left 
to keep up the supply for another season. 
By transferring these bees to another hive 
before the honey flow ends and then, per¬ 
haps. by feeding sugar syrup to make up 
for any scantiness of the natural supply 
for Winter, you might both save the bees 
and secure some honey, but with your 
lack of facilities and experience it would 
be an experiment of doubtful value. I 
would suggest rather that you keep these 
bees through the Winter and prepare to 
hive any new swarms from them next. 
Summer in modern movable frame hives. 
These hives would have facilities for re¬ 
moving the surplus honey without de¬ 
stroying the bees, and. after obtaining a 
colony or two from this mother swarm, 
you could afford to destroy it in the Fall. 
The bees are the common black bees, the 
so-called natives. M. b. d. 
