https://www.franceinter.fr/emissions/la-terre-au-carre/la-terre-au-carre-du-lundi-28-juin-2021

A reissue of “The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms, with Observations on their Habits” by Charles Darwin is offered by Editions l’Elan des Mots with a preface by Pierre-Henri Gouyon of the MNHN

“The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms, with Observations on their Habits (original English title: The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms, with Observations on their Habits, sometimes abbreviated: Worms) is the title of a work by Charles Darwin, whose first edition was published on October 10, 1881 by John Murray. The publishing house L’élan des Mots reissues it and offers an updated translation.

In his last book, Charles Darwin pays tribute to these valiant little organisms that are not so insignificant: earthworms.

When we see a vast expanse of grass, we should remember that its smoothness, on which much of its beauty depends, is mainly due to all the irregularities that have been slowly leveled by worms. It is marvelous to think that the vegetable soil of this entire expanse has passed through the bodies of worms, and will pass through again in a few years. The plough is one of the oldest and most precious inventions of man, but long before it existed, the soil was regularly ploughed by earthworms and will continue to be so. It is permissible to doubt that many other animals have played as important a role in the history of the globe as these creatures of such humble organization.

He observed them day and night for several years like an ethologist and ecologist to understand the role played by these small organisms endowed with intelligence and muscular power in the history of the globe, their contribution to the disintegration of rocks, soil denudation, the preservation of remains of ancient buildings, the preparation of the soil for growth, in short, the essential role of earthworms in soil formation.

All about these amazing little earthworms

In this book entirely devoted to these essential animals, Charles Darwin offers to read 7 chapters: observations, experiments, ethology, and ecology of earthworms in chapters dedicated to the Habits of Worms, the Quantity of fine soil brought to the surface by worms, or the Role played by worms in the burial of ancient monuments.

We learn that their soil digestion process, at a rate of 10 tons per year on an acre of cultivated land, would yield 320 trillion soil in a million years on the 32 million acres of cultivated land in England and Scotland. They have a well-developed muscular system, are devoid of hearing but sensitive to vibrations, and insensitive to Darwin’s breath when chewing tobacco but not to cabbage leaves and onion pieces…

with:

Pierre-Henri Gouyon, agronomist, geneticist, and professor at the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in PARIS who wrote the preface to “The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms, with Observations on their Habits” by Charles Darwin, reissued by L’élan des Mots with an updated translation.

and Céline Pelosi, ecologist, soil ecology specialist, and research fellow at Inrae.

—

“The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms, with Observations on their Habits” by Charles Darwin, reissued by L’élan des Mots with an updated translation.