A large amount of information on the beneficial activities of earthworms has accumulated. The rich chemical composition of casts as well as the burrowing and ploughing action of worms are well known, but there are few studies of the microflora in the intestinal tract of earthworms.
LOUTS PASTEUR isolated Bacillus anthracis from the intestine of the earthworm and ascribed to it the role of disseminating anthrax (DuBos 1951). BASSALIK (1913 a) isolated more than 50 species of bacteria from the alimentary canal of the earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris. He found no difference between the types of bacteria isolated from the gizzard, intestine and casts and those present in the soil from which they were collected. BASSALIK (1913b) also reported the isolation of a red-pigmented, oxa]ate decomposing organism, Bacillus extorquens, from the excreta of an earthworm which had ingested plant material containing calcium oxalate. AIC~ERCER (1914) observed that no diatoms, blue-green algae, desmids, yeasts or rhizopods were found alive in the alimentary canal of the worm. TAYLOR (1917) and RA~:ZBU~-(1918) considered earthworms as disseminating agents of spores of soil fungi like ~usariu~n. ~-IEy:~IONS (1923) described the intestine of the worm as a breeding place for bacteria. I)i)GGEr,I (1927) reported that earthworms play a part in spreading bacteria in deeper levels of the soil. According to DELAVSIAu (1927) bacteria are responsible for the degradation of urea in the intestinal tract of earthworms. ST6CKLI (1928) found a larger number of microorganisms present in worm casts than in soft. T~o~asolr (1934) thought that bacteria in the soil are brought up to the surface in casts and visua]ised the possibility of the spread of the tetanus bacillus through this agency. GIA*XFEaaARI and Cat:toNI (1936) found a microorganism, resembling the mucous capsulated bacteria and the semi-colon group, to be regularly present in Z4tmbricus terrestris. S~ITH and CL~ (i938) isolated from the earthworm intestine a non-sp0reforming, Gram-negative bacterium which displayed the interesting phenomenon of rotating colonies. RUSSELL (1950) pointed out that the microflora present in the earthworm gut may bring about the breakdown of organic matter and thus make the casts richer in plant nutrients. I-Ie further stated that the earthworm intestine may be the site for lignin oxidation and humus formation. SWABY (1950) states that the intestinal bacteria of earthworms produce gums which cement the casts,into waterstable aggregates. DAY (1950) found that the total number of bacteria, actinomycetes, and