WORMS

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 224, 10 December 1927, Page 28 (Supplement)

WORMS

No matter how rich the soil is without good drainage cultivation of plants is impossible. A well-drained soil is composed of fairly small particles of open texture. Oxygen is as essential to growth and respiration of roots as to the foliage and leaves. Unless a supply of pure air is assured beneath the soil, growth will be arrested. Perhaps one of the best friends to the gardener is their humble servant, the worm, which lives in most cultivated soils. This creature lives its modest little life tunnelling through the ground, eating its way along, for it obtains its food by swallowing the soil encountered in its travels, extracting the nourishment contained in it and throwing up the waste as worm casts to the surface. In this way passages

are opened in the soil which allow free circulation of air. The worms’ habit of feeding also helps to break up organic matter and to pulverise the soil particles which are brought up to the surface. Charles Darwin estimates that in the course of a year, earth worms bring from the deeper layers of the soil in the form of castings over ten tons per acre. In addition to this, these creatures pull into their tunnels leaves and other vegetable litter lying on the ground which forms mould, thus assisting in the formation of good, rich soil. Although the gardener may feel disposed to kill the worms which spoil the appearance of his lawn or disturb his precious seed boxes with their castings, he may comfort himself with the thought that the annoyance caused him. is practically nil compared with the benefits bestowed by the creatures.