RECORD: Darwin, C. R. 1880. [Earthworm research notes]. CUL-DAR64.1.36-37. (Cite as: John van Wyhe ed., 2002-. The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online, http://darwin-online.org.uk/)
REVISION HISTORY: Prepared and edited by John van Wyhe 7.2025. RN1
NOTE: See record in the Darwin Online manuscript catalogue, enter its Identifier here. Reproduced with permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library and William Huxley Darwin. The volume CUL-DAR64.1 contains material for Earthworms, experiments on worms; different locales & photographs and cuttings from journals. All of the textual items in these folders, including this one, have been transcribed in a single file: CUL-DAR63-65.
[Notes by Francis Darwin]
Sep 9th. 1880
Macugnaga Worms.
Macugnaga is 5115 ft. above the sea. It rained heavily last night. I found one small worm casting near here in an open place in a larch wood. Higher up the valley, 300 ft. I should say above this, I found several small castings. The castings are evidently made by a very
small worm, & were very small. I saw the tail of one of them. The hole through which the castings are made must have been about the size of a pin. I only saw one fresh casting, & altogether I found very few. Old ones are difficult to recognise, as they are very powdery.
[Macugnaga is a mountain village in northern Italy.]
Sep. 12th.
Baveno
For the first two hours of our way down here from Macugnaga I looked out for worms but saw none. The fields & grass about Zermatt and Macugnaga so far as I have seen, have not that peculiar hummocky appearance, which is seen at home in fields which are habitually grazed by sheep.
Citation: John van Wyhe, ed. 2002-. The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. (http://darwin-online.org.uk/)
File last updated 7 July, 2025