Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 May 1892 — The Earthworm. [ARTICLE]

The Earthworm.

The earthworm is an animal which has not received the attention from zoologists whioh it deserves, in spite of the fact that its habits and structure formed the last of that magnificent series of volumes with whioh Darwin enriched scientific literature. And it has not only been neglected by naturalists, but has incurred the bitter enmity of gardeners and farmers. It is true that the gardener has some reason for his dislike when he sees his carefully-tolled walks and smooth lawns rendered unsightly by the heaps of earth with which the worm dilligently covers them. But the farmer has no business to complain, for not only do earthworms form a large part of the food of many birds, which would, perhaps, in their absence direct their attention more olosely to his cfops and fruit trees, but they are of a positive advantage in loosening the soil, and so making passages for the rain to trickle down to the lowest roots. More than a hundred years ago Gilbert White devoted one of his letters to the subject of earthworms, and defended them from the accusation of uselessness and injuriousness in the economy of nature, remarking further, and so to a certain extent anticipating Darwin, that they are often responsible for the formation of new soils.—[Journal of Zoophily.