THE LOWLY WORM

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 153, 19 September 1927, Page 12

THE LOWLY WORM

UNPOPULAR IN HAURAKI Many peculiarities 6f the soil on Hauraki Plains are such that farming methods in common use occasion surprise to experienced farmers untamiliar with local conditions. Many useless methods are advocated and features commended which, while being desirable in other localities, are not applicable to this reclaimed land. Even officials of the Department of Agriculture have erred by malting statements without prior investigation. A typical example can be given in the general supposition and the local effect of the presence of the common earthworm. Hailed as a benefactor in most places, for by its burrowing the earthworm aerates and irrigates the sub-soil, it is looked upon as a minor evil on Hauraki Plains on account of the fact that it so pulverises the top layer of soil that the surface is much more liable to become slushy than parts where there are no worms. On many farms a greater -volume of earthworms than soil can be turned up by digging in particular parts, but while this may be due to abnormal numbers it is more likely on account of the' wetness of the subsoil forcing them to live in the surface layer alone. Certainly they are looked upon more as a curse than a benefit, and many farmers ascribe the wetness of parts of their land to them alone.