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Show 106 llABI'l'S OF WORMS. CHAP. II. stones with which the cellar was paved ; and in this case it is improbable that the worms could ever have obtained leaves. But the best evidence, known to me, of worms subsisting for at least considerable periods of time solely on the organic matter contained in earth, is afforded by some facts com1nunicated to me by Dr. l{ing. Near Nice large castings abound in extraordinary numbers, so that 5 or 6 were often found within the space of a square foot. They consist of fine, pale-coloured earth, containing calcareous matter, which after having passed through the bodies of worms and being dried, coheres with considerable force. I have reason to believe that these castings had been formed by species of Perichoota, which have been naturalised here from the East.* They • Dr. King gave me some worms collected ncar Nice, which, as be believes, had constructed these castings. rrbey were sent toM. Perrier, who with great kindness examined and namecl them for me: they consisted of Perichreta affim's, a naLive of Cochin China and of the Philippines; P. Luzonica, a native of .Luzon in the Philippines; and P. Ifoulleti, which lives near Calcutta. M. Perrier informs me tl1at species of Pericbmta have been naturalized in the gardens near Montpellier and in Algiers. Before I had any reason to suspec.t that the tower-like castings from Nice had been formed by worms not endemic in the country, I was CHAP. II. EARTII SWALLOWED AS FOOD. 107 rise like towers (see Fig 2) wi'tl tl . . • ' 1 1e1r sum-mits often a little broader than the 1. r b ases, Fig. 2. Towr er-like castinrrr:- fr• om ncar NI' ce, constrnctcd of rmth, voided ~ ohbably by a speCJes of Pericbrota: of natural size copied from a r otograph. ' sometimes to a height of above 3 and often to a height of 2-k inches. The tallest of those greatly surprised to see how closely they resembled castin()'s sent tpo ~he from near Calcutta, where it is known that spe~ies of enc rota abound. |
