Charles Darwin - an earthworm scientist

Charles Darwin was one of the earliest, and the most thorough, researchers to study the ways of the earthworm and its effect on the soil. His book, The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms, with Observations on Their Habits, published in 1881. (public domain book from the Classic Literature Library)


Charles Darwin as an earthworm scientist: caricature, from the Journal Punch, published in the year 1882.

Earthworms – Surprising Partners in the Creation of Fertile Soils, Tilth Producers Quarterly, A Journal of Organic and Sustainable Agriculture, V.8, no 1 & 2, 1982.

see also: GeoLog Blog – Charles Darwin & the Natural History of ... worms

Darwin did experiments to determine what senses earthworms possessed.

In one of these experiments, he put a pot of earthworms near the family piano and struck a note (Darwin even tells us which note). The worms did not respond. He repeated the experiment with the pot placed on the piano, which did engender a response and revealed how earthworms sense sound through vibrations.