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Show ? VALUE OF EARTHWORM t j An Idaho subscriber writes: "Of I what value are earthworms, if any, I td the soil? Do they do damage, and i is soil in which they occur usually fertile?" I The earthworm is very useful to j the farmer and gardner. It assists in J the aerating of the soil and in the t disintegration of rocky soil also. By burrowing through the soil also, the 4 worms render it more porus and per- meable to grass, not merely virtue of air space formed, but by reason of the fact that the soil is kept continually contin-ually in a gentle motion. Again, the soil passing through the bodies of the worms, is excreted in a finer con- dition being ground by aptrition J through the intestines. It was esti-j esti-j mated by Darwin that no less than j 15 tons of soil annually passes j through the bodies of warms for ev- ery acre of fertile soil where these worms brca"the in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, and the latter gas, j as is well known, readily dissolves j in water, forming an acid solution j that will render alkaline earth and J mechanic oxide, iron for instance, I soluble. Where earth worms are found, there you will find a rich soil. |