Vegetable Mould Research Articles

Mushrooms as indicators of mercury emissions (author's transl)

For various wildlife mushrooms from different geological districts of Austria the natural contents of mercury was determined. Compared to these results, mushrooms collected within the vicinity of a chlor-alkali plant contain about 10-times more mercury; occassionally up to 100 ppm calculated on dry matter. As fall leaves and fall needles in the vicinity of a chlor-alkali plant contain high levels of mercury, it is clear, that species of mushrooms with a very extended mycel in the soil, respectively mushrooms which purely decompose vegetable mould, accumulate mercury to a high extent. As indicator organisms in the study of mercury pollution, the nearly everywhere frequently growing species: lycoperdon gemmatum; mycena pura and all collybiaceae are suitable.

Science News a Century Ago

Darwin in the Andes On August 14, 1834, Darwin set out on a riding excursion from Valparaiso. The first day brought him to the Hacienda of Quintero, which formerly belonged to Lord Cochrane. “My object in coming here,” he said, “was to see the great beds of shells, which stand some yards above the level of the sea, and are burnt for lime. The proofs of the elevation of this whole line of coast are unequivocal: at the height of a few hundred feet old-looking shells are numerous, and I found some at 1,300 feet. These shells either lie loose on the surface, or are embedded in a reddish-black vegetable mould. I was much surprised to find under the microscope that this vegetable mould is really marine mud, full of minute particles of organic bodies”; On the morning of August 16, he started the ascent of the Campana, or Bell Mountain, 6,400 ft. high, and the following day climbed to the top. “We spent the day on the summit,” he wrote, “and I never enjoyed one more thoroughly. Chile, bounded by the Andes and the Pacific, was seen as in a map. … Who can avoid wondering at the force which has upheaved these mountains, and even more so at the countless ages which it must have required, to have broken through, removed, and levelled whole masses of them? It is well in this case, to call to mind the vast shingle and sedimentary beds of Patagonia, which if heaped on the Cordillera, would increase its height by so many thousand feet. When in that country, I wondered how any mountain-chain could have supplied such masses, and not have been utterly obliterated. We must not now reverse the wonder, and doubt whether all-powerful time can grind down mountainseven the gigantic Cordillerainto gravel and mud.”

The Annelids of Iceland and the Faroes

THIS is a subject about which very little has hitherto been known. In discussing the part which white ants play in the economy of nature Prof. Henry Drummond compared them with earthworms. He referred to Darwin, and said that in “Vegetable Mould” a reference was made to the existence of earthworms in Iceland. I cannot find any such allusion. It is true that a few worms have been recorded for Iceland and one for the Faroes. I am fortunately in the position to add somewhat to our knowledge. My son, Dr. J. Newton Friend, having recently returned from an expedition in those islands, I have had the privilege of examining his collection of annelids. The following are the results:

Earthworms Drowned in Puddles

I HAVE long been familiar with the frequent occurrence of dead earthworms in surface “puddles” alongside gravel walks or roads, as described by Mr. Friend in NATURE of April 7, p. 172. I have supposed that they were “drowned” owing to the amount of free oxygen in the stagnant puddles being insufficient for their respiration. So far as I recollect, earthworms are not drowned (or, at any rate, not quickly) if they get into cool, clear, running water—which, presumably, contains a larger amount of dissolved free oxygen than does the rain-water accumulated about dead leaves and deoxidising or “reducing” mud. (See on this matter Darwin's “Vegetable Mould and Earthworms”, pp. 13–16.) I confess that I do not know the facts as to the percentages of free oxygen and of oxygen-seizing matter in natural fresh-waters, or, indeed, in sea-water, in various circumstances; nor do I know the percentage of free oxygen necessary in water in order that it may—even for the brief period of an hour or two—support the life of an earthworm. I should be glad to know if these quantities have been determined. It is a common practice to kill earthworms for dissection by drowning them, but I think the water used is warmed. Many years ago I employed “normal saline solution” in the dissecting trough.

The Effect of Earthworms on Soil Productiveness

Gilbert White devotes one of his letters to earthworms. “Worms,” he says “ seem to be the great promoters of vegetation, which would “ proceed but lamely without them, by boring, perforating, and loosen-“ing the soil, and rendering it pervious to rains and the fibres of plants, “by drawing straws and stalks of leaves and twigs into it; and, most of “ all, by throwing up such infinite numbers of lumps of earth called “ worm-casts, which, being their excrement, is a fine manure for grain “and grass… the earth without worms would soon become cold, hard-“ bound, and void of fermentation, and consequently sterile.” Sixty years later, in 1837, Darwin published a paper, in which he showed the important part played by worms in the formation of vegetable mould. Further observations were recorded by Hensen in 1877. Agricultural chemists did not, however, generally make use of any of this work, and it was not till 1881 that the publication of Darwin'sEarthworms and Vegetable Moulddirected so much attention to the subject that the action of earthworms could no longer be disregarded. Several investigations have since been made into the part played by earthworms in promoting fertility, perhaps the best known being those recorded in Wollny'sZersetzung der organischen Stoffe.

On the small vertical movements of a stone laid on the surface of the ground

In my father’s book on Vegetable Mould and Earthworms an estimate is given of the rate at which stones placed on the surface of the soil are buried by the action of earthworms. The estimate is rough, and as far as I know no attempt has been made to detect such movements when small, or to determine them accurately when they are large. The experiments described in this paper were undertaken originally to measure accurately the downward movement of a stone-caused by earthworms.

XXX. A Bute Post-Glacial Shell-bed. Notes on Excavations at the Rothesay Gasworks in 1896-1897

B ute has long been known for its post-glacial shell-beds. The first recorded was at Balnakailly Bay, Kyles of Bute, by Mr. James Smith, of Jordanhill, in 1831, where it occurs from a little above high-water mark to about half-tide level. Another was found near the centre of Rothesay in 1854 in an excavation of 19 feet for a tank at the Old Gasworks. Both deposits were described by Hugh Miller in an article entitled “The Chain of Causes.” (See his “Sketchbook of Popular Geology,” page 321.) The section of the latter is given as follows:— Vegetable Mould or Soil, 1 foot 6 inches. Ferruginous Gravel, (about) 7 feet. Peat Moss, with Hazel Nuts, 1 foot 6 inches. Fine Stratified Sea-sand, 9 feet. Arenaceous Clay (shell-bed), so far as seen, 2 feet. The surface was 20 feet above sea-level, so the shell-bed lay just 1 foot above it. A third shell-deposit was found at Kilchattan Bay in 1847, where a deep clay-bed was being utilised for tile-making, though the shells do not seem to have been noticed till some years afterwards. In 1877 a shell-bed was met with in the foundations for a sawpit and boiler at the Rothesay Sawmill, but no particulars were preserved. Two excavations for gas tanks at the Rothesay New Gasworks, opening up a shelly clay, were made in 1896-1897, about 50 yards S. of the sawmills and 500 yards S. of the Old Gasworks deposit. The section here at 28 feet above

VII. On the cœlomic fluid of lumbricus terrestris in reference to a protective mechanism

Since the publication of Claparède’s classical memoir on the earthworm, numerous writers have contributed to advance our knowledge of the morphology of this animal. In England, the writings of Ray Lankester, W. B. Benham, and F. E. Beddard have considerably increased the literature of the subject; but, with the exception of incidental references to function, the papers hitherto published have dealt chiefly with the morphology, taxonomy, or geographical distribution of the animal. Darwin long ago collected the observations of Claparède and other older authorities on the physiology of the earthworm, in his work on Vegetable Mould, which consists mainly of his own observations on the habits of the animal. An article “On the Retractile Cilia in the Intestine of Lumbricus terrestris ,” by M. Greenwood, in the ‘Journal of Physiology,’ vol. 13, is, I think, the only systematic contribution in English to our knowledge of the physiology of the earthworm in recent years. The present communication contains the results of an investigation into the functions of the cœlomic fluid. The greater part of the research consists, therefore, of a detailed study of the morphology and physiology of the amœboid cells, which form the most important contents of the cœlom. But in the course of my observa­tions, I was led to investigate some of the chemical characters of the cœlomic fluid, and also to examine certain other structures, such as the skin and the dorsal pores, which form, with the cœlomic fluid, a very remarkable protective mechanism.

Science in the Magazines

PROF. J. W. JUDD contributes to the Fortnightly an article on “The Chemical Action of Marine Organisms,” dealing with the nature of the ocean-floor, and showing that the operations going on there are similar to those described by Darwin in his work on vegetable mould and earthworms. Prof. Judd favours the organic view of the origin of manganese nodules, and believes that the chemical theory is improbable. He says:—

On the formation of vegetable mould by the action of certain animals

On the formation of vegetable mould by the action of certain animals

IV.—Dust and Soils

In Darwin's recently published work on vegetable mould, allusion is made to the fact that “In countries where the summer is long and dry, the mould in protected places must be largely increased by dust blown from other and more exposed places.” A few lines further on, however, he states that “In humid countries like Great Britain, as long as the land remains in its natural state clothed with vegetation, the mould in any one place can hardly be much increased by dust.” To this statement no exception can be taken, if we remember that it only applies to a period when the climate is humid, and to a country clothed with vegetation.

On the Absence of Earthworms from the Prairies of the Canadian North-West

NOT by any means the least remarkable of the very notable series of works which Mr. Darwin has given to the world is that which came last from his pen but a short time previous to his lamented death. Dealing, as it does, with effects which, when looked at in the detail, are exceedingly small and insignificant, but, when viewed in the aggregate, are shown to be of surprising importance, the “Vegetable Mould and Earthworms” must certainly rank as a most strilingly interesting work.

Experiments on Feeding Plants with the Nitrogen of Vegetable Mould

Experiments on Feeding Plants with the Nitrogen of Vegetable Mould

Darwin's Formation of Vegetable Mold Through the Action of WormsThe International Scientific Series. The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms, with Observations on Their Habits.Charles Darwin

Previous articleNext article FreeRecent LiteratureDarwin's Formation of Vegetable Mold Through the Action of Worms The International Scientific Series. The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms, with Observations on Their Habits. Charles Darwin PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The American Naturalist Volume 16, Number 6Jun., 1882 Published for The American Society of Naturalists Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/273107 Views: 15 PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

On Organic Remains from the Upper Permian Strata of Kargalinsk, in Eastern Russia

The cupriferous sandstones composing the Kargalinsk steppe, or steppe of Kargala, to the N. of Orenburg, lie out of the ordinary track of travellers, but offer an interesting field for research. The railway now takes us as far as the town of Orenburg, whence a drive of thirty or forty miles leads into the heart of the important mining district to which I now propose to invite your attention. The doubts thrown on the Permian age of these strata in the discussion upon my former paper induce me to submit a few remarks bearing upon the question. The country is a grassy, treeless, undulating steppe, covered superficially with the well-known black earth, or tchernozem, considered by Murchison to be of marine origin. The balance of evidence, however, is in favour of it being a vegetable mould. Sluggish meandering streams intersect the steppe. The exposures of the subsoil on the banks of streams and ravines show nothing beyond red marl or sandstone devoid of fossils. The mine-borings and shafts cut down through red, yellow, and grey sandstones, and red and white marls, fossiliferous wherever the beds of copper ore exist.

The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms, with Observations on their Habits , by Charles Darwin, LL.D., F.R.S., with illustrations. Messrs. D. Appleton & Company. New York. 1882.

<i>The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms, with Observations on their Habits</i> , by Charles Darwin, LL.D., F.R.S., with illustrations. Messrs. D. Appleton &amp; Company. New York. 1882.

The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms, with Observations on their Habits , by Charles Darwin, LL.D., F.R.S., with illustrations. Messrs. D. Appleton &amp; Company. New York. 1882.

<i>The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms, with Observations on their Habits</i> , by Charles Darwin, LL.D., F.R.S., with illustrations. Messrs. D. Appleton &amp; Company. New York. 1882.

The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. By Charles Darwin, LL.D., F.R.S. Sm. 8vo. London: Murray, 1881

<i>The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms, with observations on their habits</i>. By C<scp>harles</scp> D<scp>arwin</scp>, LL.D., F.R.S. Sm. 8vo. London: Murray, 1881

The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms, with Observations on their Habits

IF the world were not already accustomed to the unprecedented fertility of Mr. Darwin's genius, it might well be disposed to marvel at the appearance of yet another work, now added to the magnificent array of those which bear his name. But feelings of wonder at Mr. Darwin's activity have long ago been sated, and most of us have grown to regard his powers of research as belonging to a class sui generis, to which the ordinary measures of working capacity do not apply. Be our feelings of wonder, however, what they may, it is most gratifying to find that this latest work from the hand of our illustrious countryman is in every way worthy of its predecessors. Everywhere throughout the book we meet with the distinctive attributes of Mr. Darwin's mind. Beginning with matters of the most common knowledge, which at first sight appear to furnish the most unpromising material, he proceeds by close observation of details and sagacious manipulation of facts to establish general truths of the most far-reaching importance in directions where we should least have expected any such truths to lie. The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms, with Observations on their Habits. By Charles Darwin, (London: John Murray, 1881.)

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