F1364    Book:     Darwin, C. R. 1882. The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. Seventh thousand. Corrected by Francis Darwin. London: John Murray.   Text   Image   PDF

during the night; but I have occasionally known objects to be drawn into the burrows during the day. What advantage the worms derive from plugging up the mouths of their burrows with leaves, c., or from piling stones over them, is doubtful. They do not act in this manner at the times when they eject much earth from their burrows; for their castings then serve to cover the mouths. When gardeners wish to kill worms on a lawn, it is necessary first to brush or rake away the castings from the

F1364    Book:     Darwin, C. R. 1882. The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. Seventh thousand. Corrected by Francis Darwin. London: John Murray.   Text   Image   PDF

undoubtedly instinctive with worms, yet instinct could not tell them how to act in the case of leaves about which their progenitors knew nothing. If, moreover, worms acted solely through instinct or an unvarying inherited impulse, they would draw all kinds of leaves into their burrows in the same manner. If they have no such definite instinct, we might expect that chance would determine whether the tip, base or middle was seized. If both these alternatives are excluded, intelligence alone is left; unless

F1364    Book:     Darwin, C. R. 1882. The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. Seventh thousand. Corrected by Francis Darwin. London: John Murray.   Text   Image   PDF

habit of plugging up the mouths of the burrows with various objects, is no doubt instinctive in worms; and a very young one, born in one of my pots, dragged for some little distance a Scotchfir leaf, one needle of which was as long and almost as thick as its own body. No species of pine is endemic in this part of England, it is therefore incredible that the proper manner of dragging pine-leaves into the burrows can be instinctive with our worms. But as the worms on which the above observations

F1364    Book:     Darwin, C. R. 1882. The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. Seventh thousand. Corrected by Francis Darwin. London: John Murray.   Text   Image   PDF

see how the triangles would be seized by worms, some in a damp state were given to worms kept in confinement. They were seized in three different manners in the case of both the narrow and broad triangles: viz., by the margin; by one of the three angles, which was often completely engulfed in their mouths; and lastly, by suction applied to any part of the flat surface. If lines parallel to the base and an inch apart, are drawn across a triangle with the sides three inches in length, it will be

F1364    Book:     Darwin, C. R. 1882. The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. Seventh thousand. Corrected by Francis Darwin. London: John Murray.   Text   Image   PDF

, being at the same time generally dirty. Of the 82 uncreased triangles, 14 were dirty at the base; but it does not follow from this fact that these had first been dragged towards the burrows by their bases; for the worms sometimes covered large portions of the triangles with slime, and these when dragged by the apex over the ground would be dirtied; and during rainy weather, the triangles were often dirtied over one whole side or over both sides. If the worms had dragged the triangles to the mouths

F1364    Book:     Darwin, C. R. 1882. The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. Seventh thousand. Corrected by Francis Darwin. London: John Murray.   Text   Image   PDF

passage by swallowing the earth; for it is incredible that the ground could yield on all sides to the pressure of the pharynx when pushed forwards within the worm's body. That worms swallow a larger quantity of earth for the sake of extracting any nutritious matter which it may contain than for making their burrows, appears to me certain. But as this old belief has been doubted by so high an authority as Clapar de, evidence in its favour must be given in some detail. There is no priori

F1364    Book:     Darwin, C. R. 1882. The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. Seventh thousand. Corrected by Francis Darwin. London: John Murray.   Text   Image   PDF

another place at no great distance the castings were white; and why the worms should have burrowed into the chalk in some places and not in others, I am unable to conjecture. Two great piles of leaves had been left to decay in my grounds, and months after their removal, the bare surface, several yards in diameter, was so thickly covered during several months with castings that they formed an almost continuous layer; and the large number of worms which lived here must have subsisted during

F1364    Book:     Darwin, C. R. 1882. The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. Seventh thousand. Corrected by Francis Darwin. London: John Murray.   Text   Image   PDF

out on all sides by the worm as it travels up or down its burrow. The lining thus formed becomes very compact and smooth when nearly dry, and closely fits the worm's body. The minute reflexed bristles which project in rows on all sides from the body, thus have excellent points of support; and the burrow is rendered well adapted for the rapid movement of the animal. The lining appears also to strengthen the walls, and perhaps saves the worm's body from being scratched. I think so because several

F1364    Book:     Darwin, C. R. 1882. The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. Seventh thousand. Corrected by Francis Darwin. London: John Murray.   Text   Image   PDF

as well as the seeds, are carried down from the surface by being swallowed; for a surprising number of glass beads, bits of tile and of glass were certainly thus carried down by worms kept in pots; but some may have been carried down within their mouths. The sole conjecture which I can form why worms line their winter-quarters with little stones and seeds, is to prevent their closely coiled-up bodies from coming into close contact with the surrounding cold soil; and such contact would perhaps

F1364    Book:     Darwin, C. R. 1882. The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. Seventh thousand. Corrected by Francis Darwin. London: John Murray.   Text   Image   PDF

three cubic centimeters. They were, therefore, of small size in comparison with those often found in England; for six large castings from a field near my house averaged 16 cubic centimeters. Several species of earth-worms are common in St. Catharina in South Brazil, and Fritz M ller informs me that in most parts of the forests and pasture-lands, the whole soil, to a depth of a quarter of a metre, looks as if it had passed repeatedly through the intestines of earth-worms, even where hardly any

F1364    Book:     Darwin, C. R. 1882. The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. Seventh thousand. Corrected by Francis Darwin. London: John Murray.   Text   Image   PDF

found that it amounted, in the case of some worms which he kept in confinement, and which he appears to have fed with leaves, to only 0 5 gram, or less than 8 grains per diem. But a very much larger amount must be ejected by worms in their natural state, at the periods when they consume earth as food instead of leaves, and when they are making deep burrows. This is rendered almost certain by the following weights of the castings thrown up at the mouths of single burrows; the whole of which

F1364    Book:     Darwin, C. R. 1882. The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. Seventh thousand. Corrected by Francis Darwin. London: John Murray.   Text   Image   PDF

England it must add to the mould on fields near great roads. But in our country these latter several agencies appear to be of quite subordinate importance in comparison with the action of worms. We have no means of judging how great a weight of earth a single full-sized worm ejects during a year. Hensen estimates that 53,767 worms exist in an acre of land; but this is founded on the number found in gardens, and he believes that only about half as many live in corn-fields. How many live in old

F1364    Book:     Darwin, C. R. 1882. The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. Seventh thousand. Corrected by Francis Darwin. London: John Murray.   Text   Image   PDF

337 A.D. was found. My son William visited the place before the excavations were completed; and he informs me that most of the floors were at first covered with much rubbish and fallen stones, having their interstices completely filled up with mould, abounding, as the workmen said, with worms, above which there was mould without any stones. The whole mass was in most places from 3 to above 4 ft. in thickness. In one very large room the overlying earth was only 2 ft. 6 in. thick; and after this

F1364    Book:     Darwin, C. R. 1882. The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. Seventh thousand. Corrected by Francis Darwin. London: John Murray.   Text   Image   PDF

course impossible to know how much the fragments may have been worn before they were swallowed. It is, however, clear that worms do not habitually select already rounded particles, for sharply angular bits of flint and of other hard rocks were often found in their gizzards or intestines. On three occasions sharp spines from the stems of rose-bushes were thus found. Worms kept in confinement repeatedly swallowed angular fragments of hard tile, coal, cinders, and even the sharpest fragments of

F1364    Book:     Darwin, C. R. 1882. The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. Seventh thousand. Corrected by Francis Darwin. London: John Murray.   Text   Image   PDF

beneath which many worm-castings were found. These had flowed bodily downwards, and others had rolled down as pellets. Hence it is certain that as long as a mound of this kind is tenanted by worms, its height will be continually lowered. The fine earth which flows or rolls down the sides of such a mound accumulates at its base in the form of a talus.A bed, even a very thin bed, of fine earth is eminently favourable for worms; so that a greater number of castings would tend to be ejected on a

A1322    Review:     Anon. 1882. [Review of Earthworms] Worms and their ways. The Washington Standard (10 February): 4.   Text   PDF

The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online [page] 4 Worms and their ways At the age of seventy-two, Charles Darwin, the illustrious naturalist, makes another addition to the sum of human knowledge. He reveals to us the important part played by worms in fertilizing the earth. He calls them Nature's plowmen, who are ceaselessly burrowing, mellowing, enriching the ground. They fill themselves full of the crude earth below the surface. This they slowly digest, forming a vegetable mould, which they

A1163    Review:     [Macleay, W. J.] 1882. [Review of] The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms. The Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, VI: 864-5.   Text   PDF

The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online [page] 864 President's address I would like to draw the attention of our members to a work recently published by Charles Darwin, on a subject which has so far received but little attention at the hands of naturalists. I refer to our earth worms. The publication of this work may induce some of the members of this Society to take the subject up. This work is spoken of in Knowledge of 4th November, 1889, as follows:- No man of science of our day

A1166    Review:     Anon. 1882. [Review of] The formation of vegetable mold through the action of worms, with observations of their habits: Darwin and the worm. Chicago Daily Tribune (14 Jan): 9.   Text   PDF

the bodies of worms. The plough is one of the most ancient and most valuable of mans inventions; but long before he existed the land was in fact regularly ploughed, and still continues to be thus ploughed by earth-worms. It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world, as have these lowly organised creatures. Mr. Darwin shows in his study that low in the animal kingdom as worms are they are not by any means altogether devoid

A2257    Review:     Anon. 1882. [Review of Earthworms]. Services rendered by earthworms. Leisure Hour Monthly Library, 31: 24-5.   Text   PDF

length a monograph such as he desired, in the form of a large volume, by no less distinguished a naturalist than Charles Darwin. Mr. Darwin's book is the result of long study and observation. Thirty years ago he drew attention to the action of worms geologically, by their gradually covering the surface of the land with fresh soil; and he went so far as to say ( Proceedings of the Geological Society ) that every particle of earth in old pasture land has passed through the intestines of worms, and

A2752    Review:     Anon. 1882. [Review of Earthworms]. Rivista Europea (Rome) 28: 517-519.   Text   PDF

The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online [page] 517 The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms, with observations on their habits, by CHARLES DARWIN. London, Murray 1882. É questa l'ultima opera del grande scienziato inglese uscita nel mese scorso, ed e la prova piu splendida ch'egli potesse dare del suo meraviglioso spirito d' osservaziooe. II titolo dice già chiaramente quale sia ii contenuto dell'opera: la formazione della terra vegetate per mezzo dell'azione dei vermi

F1362    Book:     Darwin, C. R. 1882. The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. 6th thousand (corrected). London: John Murray.   Text   Image   PDF

CHAP. III. BROUGHT UP BY WORMS. thick. This layer did not contain fragments of any kind; but beneath it there was a layer of mould, 1 1/2 inch in thickness, full of fragments Section, reduced to half the natural scale, of the vegetable mould in a field, drained and reclaimed fifteen years previously; A, turf; B, vegetable mould without any stones; C, mould with fragments of burnt marl, coal-cinders and quartz pebbles; D, sub-soil of black, peaty sand with quartz pebbles of burnt marl

F1362    Book:     Darwin, C. R. 1882. The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. 6th thousand (corrected). London: John Murray.   Text   Image   PDF

INTRODUCTION. spread out and cover up any object left on the surface. I was thus led to conclude that all the vegetable mould over the whole country has passed many times through, and will again pass many times through, the intestinal canals of worms. Hence the term animal mould would be in some respects more appropriate than that commonly used of vegetable mould. Ten years after the publication of my paper, M. D'Archiac, evidently influenced by the doctrines of Élie de Beaumont, wrote about

F1362    Book:     Darwin, C. R. 1882. The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. 6th thousand (corrected). London: John Murray.   Text   Image   PDF

CHAP. I. SITES INHABITED. Eisen; * but two of these rarely burrow in the ground, and one inhabits very wet places or even lives under the water. We are here concerned only with the kinds which bring up earth to the surface in the form of castings. Hoffmeister says that the species in Germany are not well known, but gives the same number as Eisen, together with some strongly marked varieties.† Earth-worms abound in England in many different stations. Their castings may be seen in extraordinary

F1362    Book:     Darwin, C. R. 1882. The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. 6th thousand (corrected). London: John Murray.   Text   Image   PDF

CHAP. I. THEIR SENSES. which runs in a straight course to the vent at the posterior end of the body. The intestine presents a remarkable structure, the typhlosolis, or, as the old anatomists called it, an intestine within an intestine; and Claparède* has shown that this consists of a deep longitudinal involution of the walls of the intestine, by which means an extensive absorbent surface is gained. The circulatory system is well developed. Worms breathe by their skin, as they do not possess

F1362    Book:     Darwin, C. R. 1882. The formation of vegetable mould, through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. 6th thousand (corrected). London: John Murray.   Text   Image   PDF

CHAP. I. THEIR SENSES. devoured. Nevertheless, worms do not m- variably leave their burrows when the ground is made to tremble, as I know by having beaten it with a spade, but perhaps it was beaten too violently. The whole body of a worm is sensitive to contact. A slight puff of air from the mouth causes an instant retreat. The glass plates placed over the pots did not fit closely, and blowing through the very narrow chinks thus left, often sufficed to cause a rapid retreat. They sometimes