A Case of Waste Consumption by Earthworms

Abstract

Generally speaking, an earthworm swallows daily its own weight (0.4 g) of feeding-stuffs. Thus, 5, 000 worms consume 20 tons of organic feeding-stuffs and the half amount, that is, 10 tons of castings is excreted. In a place of severe weather condition, however, the above figures could not be expected without any special man-power treatment.
As for the feeding-stuffs of earthworms, the cellulose, which is resolved into sugar by the earthworm's internal ferment, properly mixed with cow or horse manure, food waste or activated sludge that contains enough starch and protein, is ideal. Those organic wastes are found with ease and are nation-wide enormous in their quantity. It is quite meanful that we reform such wates into the fertile soil. Further, the worm itself can be utilized as the feeding-sutffs for some fish farms :