Without the earthworms it would be difficult for us to live. It is by
their help that grass grows for the cattle, and the garden yields food
for our own use.
Long before any one thought of making a plough, the hard lumps of earth
were broken up by the slender bodies of the earthworms. These worms have
no eyes or feelers or feet, but they have, on each ring of their bodies,
four pairs of bristles, which aid them in making their way through the
earth.
Air is let into the soil through the holes that the worms make, and the
moisture is drained away. Thus the roots of the plants are kept in good
condition.
Worms are useful in another way. They can make poor soil into rich
mould. This they do by swallowing earth and dried leaves.
After passing through the body of the worm, the earth is cast up in
little heaps, which are soon scattered by the wind and rain. Hundreds of
these "casts" may be seen in any large garden, and thus the whole
surface is constantly changing.
In this way fields which were unfit for crops of any kind are made ready
for the farmer's use. In some places it has been found that ten tons of
dry earth on every acre are made into good soil each year by the worms.
No gardener can prepare fine mould for plants so well as the worms can
do it, and no farmer can so carefully make ready his fields.
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