M. Perrier found
that their exposure to the dry air of a room for only a single
night was fatal to them. On the other hand he kept several large
worms alive for nearly four months, completely submerged in water.
{10} During the summer when the ground is dry, they penetrate to a
considerable depth and cease to work, as they do during the winter
when the ground is frozen. Worms are nocturnal in their habits,
and at night may be seen crawling about in large numbers, but
usually with their tails still inserted in their burrows. By the
expansion of this part of their bodies, and with the help of the
short, slightly reflexed bristles, with which their bodies are
armed, they hold so fast that they can seldom be dragged out of the
ground without being torn into pieces. {11} During the day they
remain in their burrows, except at the pairing season, when those
which inhabit adjoining burrows expose the greater part of their
bodies for an hour or two in the early morning. Sick individuals,
which are generally affected by the parasitic larvae of a fly, must
also be excepted, as they wander about during the day and die on
the surface. After heavy rain succeeding dry weather, an
astonishing number of dead worms may sometimes be seen lying on the
ground. Mr. Galton informs me that on one such occasion (March,
1881), the dead worms averaged one for every two and a half paces
in length on a walk in Hyde Park, four paces in width.
Pages:
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29