SUGGESTIONS:—Earthworms may be found in the daytime after a heavy rain,
or by digging or turning over planks, logs, etc., in damp places. They
may be found on the surface at night by searching with a lantern. Live
specimens may be kept in the laboratory in a box packed with damp (not
wet) loam and dead leaves. They may be fed on bits of fat meat, cabbage,
onion, etc., dropped on the surface. When studying live worms, they
should be allowed to crawl on damp paper or wood. An earthworm placed in
a glass tube with rich, damp soil, may be watched from day to day.
[Illustration:
FIG. 69.—AN EARTHWORM.
]
=External Features.=—Is the body _bilateral_? Is there a _dorsal_ and a
_ventral_ surface? Can you show this by a test with live worm? Do you
know of an animal with dorsal and ventral surface, but not bilateral?
Can you make out a head? A head end? A neck? Touch the head and test
whether it can be made to crawl backwards. Which end is more tapering?
Is the mouth at the tip of the head end or on the upper or lower
surface? How is the _vent_ situated? Its shape? As the worm lies on a
horizontal surface, is the body anywhere flattened? Are there any very
distinct divisions in the body? Do you see any _eyes_?
=Experiment= to find whether the worm is sensitive (1) to _touch_, (2)
to _light_, (3) to strong _odours_, (4) to irritating liquids. Does it
show a sense of _taste_? The experiments should show whether it avoids
or seeks a bright light, as of a window; also whether any parts of the
body are especially sensitive to touch, or all equally sensitive. What
effect when a bright light is brought suddenly near it at night?
Is _red blood_ visible through the skin? Can you notice any _pulsations_
in a vessel along the back? Do all earthworms have the same number of
_divisions_ or rings? Compare the size of the rings or segments. Can it
crawl faster on glass or on paper?
[Illustration:
FIG. 70.—MOUTH AND SETÆ.
]
A magnifying glass will show on most species tiny bristle-like
projections called _setæ_. How are the setæ arranged? (_d_, Fig. 70.)
How many on one ring of the worm? How do they point? Does the worm feel
smoother when it is pulled forward or backward between the fingers? Why?
Are setæ on the lower surface? Upper surface? The sides? What is the use
of the setæ? Are they useful below ground? Does the worm move at a
uniform rate? What change in form occurs as the front part of the body
is pushed forward? As the hinder part is pulled onward? How far does it
go at each movement? At certain seasons a broad band, or ring, appears,
covering several segments and making them seem enlarged (Fig. 71). This
is the _clitellum_, or _reproductive girdle_. Is this girdle nearer the
mouth or the tail?
[Illustration:
FIG. 71.—EARTHWORM, mouth end above.
]
=Draw= the exterior of an earthworm.
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