“Earth-worms abound in England in many different stations. Their castings may be seen in extraordinary numbers on commons and chalk-downs, so as almost to cover the whole surface, where the soil is poor and the grass short and thin.”

Source: The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms (1881), Chapter 1: Habits of Worms, p. 9. http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?pageseq=24&itemID=F1357&viewtype=image

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British naturalist, author of "On the origin of species, by… 1809–1882

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