“As it is certain that worms swallow many little stones, independently of those swallowed while excavating their burrows, it is probable that they serve, like mill-stones, to triturate their food.”

— Charles Darwin, book The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms

Source: The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms (1881), Chapter 1: Habits of Worms, p. 18. http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?pageseq=33&itemID=F1357&viewtype=image

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Charles Darwin161

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

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