Ɛpsilon

From Adolf Ernst   17 October 1880

Carácas

Oct 17/1880

Dear Sir,

In answer to your last letter I hasten to tell you that earth-worms behave here precisely in the same manner as in Europe.1 I have noticed their castings every where in gardens and fields, but not in the forest. I had an excellent opportunity of observing these animals in the back-yard of my own house, a space measuring 20 yards by ten. This morning I counted on these 200 square yards one hundred and fifty six (156) holes and castings. These were of rather unequal size from half a cubic centimetre to 5 cubic centimeters. I collected as carefully as possible the whole quantity of upcast earth, and found it to be close to half a litre, so that 3 cubic centimetres is the mean quantity of a cast.2

The whole depth I was however unable to ascertain satisfactorily; I can only say that at 75 centimetres the hole was still visible, but I lost there its trace further on.

I will send you as soon as possible some of the earth worms, in order that you may get from some one the systematic name.3

The depth of the burrows must be pretty different, as I saw from the different nature of the up cast earth; sometimes it is a yellow loam (which is generally our subsoil, the result of desintegration of gneissic rocks), sometimes a fine black mould, the occurrence of which has nothing strange in the soil of a city:

I had overlooked in the American Naturalist the strange misstatement to which you are good enough to call my attention.4 It is singular, though I may be partly guilty by not having worded my phrases more clearly. I shall send a note to the Editors, claiming a true statement of my observations.—5

I shall be most happy to write to you now and then, and remain respectfully your obedient servant | A Ernst.

CD annotations

1.6 half a cubic 1.7] underl pencil
1.7 5 cubic] underl pencil
1.8 cubic centimetres 1.9] underl pencil
2.2 further on.] ‘— nearly 30 inches’ added pencil
Top of third page: This morning … cast.] ‘2 512 — 2.2’ pencil del pencil; ‘156 500cc 32 468 — 320’ pencil
Top of letter: ‘This will work in ch I & III only [briefly] in’ pencil
End of letter: ‘(send my book)’6 pencil
2
Ernst’s observations were reported in Earthworms, pp. 121–2.
3
Ernst did not send a specimen of the common Venezuelan earthworm until after he had received his presentation copy of Earthworms (see Correspondence vol. 30, letter from Adolf Ernst, 2 March 1882).
5
The American Naturalist was edited by Alpheus Spring Packard and Edward Drinker Cope; no correction by Ernst appears to have been published.
6
Ernst’s name is on the presentation list for Earthworms (DAR 210.11: 30).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-12764,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-12764