Don't you remember how we went fishing with Daddy,
Mab?" asked her brother.
"Yes, I do. But I thought it was a snake."
Hal had jumped over the fence and picked up the worm. It was a large one
and had been crawling about the newly-plowed field.
"Oh, I don't like 'em," said Mab with a little shiver.
"Worms are good," said Mr. Porter coming out into his garden.
"You mean good for fishing?" asked Hal
"Yes, and good for gardens, too. They wiggle through the ground and sort
of chew it up so it does not get so hard. The earth around the roots of
trees and plants ought to be kept loose and dug up so the air and water
can get through easier. So worms in a garden help to make the plants
grow."
"I didn't know that," said Hal, as he put down the big worm, which at once
began to crawl slowly along, stretching itself out until it was almost
twice as big as at first.
In a few days the weather was much warmer, and the soil in the two
gardens began to dry out. The man came with the spiked, or tooth, harrow,
and his horses dragged this over the ground several times. Soon the soil
was quite smooth, the big lumps or clods of earth being broken up into
little fine chunks.
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