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Show Million Worms Turn Into Bis; Business Started as Hobby, H igglers Noiv Sold to Anglers. MAXITOWOC. WIS. Worms fishin' worms by the millions are the source of a 525,000 annual business busi-ness which is operated by Leslie F. Palmer, a Hartland manufacturer. Palmer has a worm farm near the village of Grimes, a few miles west of here. Palmer describes the worms as "wicked wigglers" the answer to the fisherman's prayer." They are raised in a fenced lot 130 by 44 feet in size. When the worms are full grown and fattened they are shipped to sports goods stores and other stores throughout the United States and are sold as bait. Palmer said he started the farm as a hobby but that it has grown to such an extent that it is an important impor-tant business. He established the farm seven years ago after importing import-ing several thousand red worms from South America. He experimented experi-mented for three years to determine the soil in which the worms would thrive best. Proper soil, together with a special spe-cial diet, are what it takes to produce pro-duce a worm that will tempt a fish ! beyond the limits of resistance, according ac-cording to Palmer. The diet, however, how-ever, is a trade secret. Although the soil is an important factor. Palmer's worms do not burrow bur-row deeply in it, as does the garden variety of angleworm. Instead, they squirm through 18 inches of cooked food, which is spread over the ground. They fatten until they are large enough to be marketed and then are placed in lead cans for shipment A chemical is placed in the cans to prevent reproduction of the worms after they have been shipped. I Palmer says they'll live 30 days in the lead cans. Do fish like them? "Yes, indeed," Palmer says. "My worms have an i irresistible wiggle." |
