The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms : with observations on their habits
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms : with observations on their habits
(Cambridge library collection, . Darwin)
Cambridge University Press, 2009
- : pbk
Available at 1 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
"This digitally printed version 2009"--T.p. verso
Facsim. of ed. published: London : J. Murray, 1881
Includes bibliographical references and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
This book, published in 1881, was the result of many years of experimentation and observation by Darwin in the open-air laboratory of his garden at Down House in Kent. As he wrote in his introduction, the subject of soil disturbance by worms 'may appear an insignificant one, but we shall see that it possesses some interest'. He goes on to demonstrate the immensity - in size and over time - of the accumulated tiny movements of soil by earthworms, and their vital role in aerating the soil and breaking down vegetable material to keep the topsoil, the growing medium for all plant life and thus vital to human existence, fertile and healthy. At a time when there is huge interest in growing food organically and without using artificial fertilisers, Darwin's insights are as important, and his descriptions of his experiments as fascinating, as they were in the late nineteenth century.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1. Habits of worms
- 2. Habits of worms-continued
- 3. The amount of fine earth brought up by worms to the surface
- 4. The part which worms have played in the burial of ancient buildings
- 5. The action of worms in the denudation of the land
- 6. The denudation of the land-continued
- 7. Conclusion
- Index.
by "Nielsen BookData"