GARDENERS’ FRIEND

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 89, 3 February 1947, Page 7

GARDENERS’ FRIEND

THE LOWLY WORM

AN INVALUABLE WORKER Though Charles Darwin’s classical work on the “Formation of vegetable mould through the action of earthworms”—long since out of print—is rarely found on the shelves of gardener’s libraries, a great deal has been written about earthworms. Although the story of their invaluable work in the creation of soil fertility has been told many times, it is still but dimly understood by both the veteran and the tyro gardener. Darwin considered earthworms the prime factor in soil fertility. Without their beneficial activities, mankind would' starve. The borrowings of earthworms are the means of soil aeration, bringing with it better drainage and added warmth. Moreover, living on the soil that passes through its ailmentary canal, the earthworm drags down organic matter from the surface, thus increasing the humus content of the soil. From below it obtains inorganic material, and the two are mixed and soil fertility thereby increased. Worm casts, recognised by gardeners as "good tilth,” are far richer than soil that has not been digested •—though they are a disfigurement to lawns. Darwin estimated that where the worm population is fairly normal, about one-tenth inch of soil is brought to the surface annually. This quantity may seem infinitesimal, but the activity of earthworms in this connection is rarely appreciated.

Another valuable feature of earthworms is that their presence in large numbers indicate the soil is alkaline or neutral, while if there is a scarcity of worms the soil is usually acid in character.

There are fewer worms in light than in heavy soils, while they are rarely present in peat country such as that between Hamilton and Morrinsville, or in soils of forests composed of coniferous trees.