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In praise of the earthworm (Time Magazine, 1941)

In 1906 a young Texas physician and surgeon named George Sheffield Oliver read Darwin’s book on earthworms. A descendant of the James Oliver who invented the steel plow, George Oliver was living on a five-acre plot, and he decided to try earthworm culture on his grounds. Soon earthworms were such a big part of his life that he gave up his medical practice for [more...]

Excerpt: Friend Earthworm

Friend Earthworm
by George Oliver

INTRODUCTION

There must be something wrong somewhere — Nature’s laws governing these errors — What is wrong when we have so many human ills? — When we have want in a land of plenty? — Why not old age pensions? — Why poultry dies young — The earthworm as [more...]

Friend Earthworm

The problem facing civilization today is rebuilding the soil and restoring the earth to a form usable for food production. Through the slow processes of nature, it takes 500 to 1,000 years to lay down an inch of topsoil. Under favorable conditions, a task-force of earthworms can do the same job in five [more...]