David Fuller age lo, Spenceportp New York

 How does a worm get born?

This amazing creature sees without eyes breathes without a nose and travels without legs, So we are not surprised to learn that the earthworm has a most unusual family life, True little Pinky has two parents and begins life as an egg ‑ which is not unusual. But the amazing fact is that each of his parents is both a mother and a father. For every worm is both a male and a female. Each lays its own eggs and fertilizes the eggs for another worm;

Naturally, this makes for a very complicated family, A worm s mother is also the father of a brood of little brother‑sisters, His father is the mother of this brood of brother‑sisters. Each member of both broods grows up to be both a mother and a father in its own right. You might expect such two‑sided parents t o team up and lavish affection on their double families. Not at all. Parent worms are very neglectful of their children,

The eggs are layed in a pouch called the saddle which is near the front end of the parent worm. When they are fertilized, they start the bumpy journey towards the parents head. They slide off at the tip and~the egg sac seals itself together. The bundle of worm eggs is a little darker and about the same size as a grain of wheat. The parent worm leaves this egg case on the ground, wriggles off and forgets all about it,

In two weeks the eggs are ready to hatch, A tiny worm squirms out of each egg and the wriggly brood works together to break through the egg case, Even if you were watching the ground, you would hardly notice this new brood of worms coming out to‑see the world, For it takes eight or nine of the little creatures lengthwise to measure one inch. They are on their own, Neither parent is around to help them get started in the world.

The little creatures wriggle through the crumbly soil in search of food, They gobble up the dirts hoping it contains bits of decay and moldy leaves. This food is digested. But even worms cannot digest dirt. That is passed out in a curley little heap,

Soon the new babies, are eating tunnels into the,.soil. They make burrows, each ending in

in a cozy round room. Down here a worm rests all safe from the hungry birds, the bright rays of the sun and the busy fishermen. The worms that escape all these dangers for two years grow to be about ten inches long.

Worms are do‑gooders: Their burrows let air and moisture into the soil, This helps the roots of trees and plants$ especially our crop plants, The little pinkies also break up a lot of decaying stuff: This releases chemicals which enrich the soil for new plants, They also turn over the soil somewhat like a plow. The dirt they eat below is carried upstairs and piled on the surface. It is good when a farmer has millions of little earthworms working for him in each acre of his lands