EARTHWORM STUDIES.
By the Rev. Hilderic Friend.
Author of 'Flowers and Flower-Lore.'
IV. A Check-List of British Earthworms.
Some years ago I drew up a provisional list of the different species of Earthworms which were then known to exist in the British Isles, and published the same in 'The Naturalist' for January, 1893. Since then Rosa's 'Revisione de Lumbricidi,' Beddard's 'Monograph of the Oligochæta,' Ribaucourt's 'Faune Lombricide de la Suisse,' together with a long series of pamphlets and memoranda, have appeared; in addition to my own special reports on the Earthworm fauna of Ireland, England, Normandy, and other parts. It therefore seems desirable that we should summarize our present knowledge for the guidance of collectors at home and students abroad. In this paper I shall place on record all the species and varieties which have come under observation up till the present time, so that we may see in the first place exactly what British species were known to science in this memorable Jubilee year, and at the same time afford a guide to collectors in the identifying of their captures.
In most cases I have, for the sake of convenience, followed Beddard's 'Monograph,' although I cannot in every instance endorse his conclusions. He has absorbed some good species which I have preferred to keep distinct, but in the present state of our knowledge such little differences are inevitable. Although I have given up the specific use of the term Dendrobæna, I believe the day is coming when the large genus Allolobophora will be divided into sections, of which Dendrobæna will be one. Dr. Ribaucourt, indeed, has submitted a synopsis on these lines, which Rosa and others have also from time to time considered and half adopted.
Our indigenous Earthworms fall under three genera, and number at present twenty-three species, besides a few subspecies
