How grunting gets worms out of the soil

Описание: (11 Jun 2009)
Near Sopchoppy/ Apalachicola Forest/ Florida Panhandle, no date available
1. Mid shot Gary Revell tilt down to rubbing iron over stob
2. Close up iron being rubbed over stob
3. Wide shot two men worm grunting in forest
4. Mid shot man (view from behind) rubbing iron over stob
5. Tilt down two men worm grunting in forest
6. Mid shot Gary Revell tilt down to rubbing iron over stob
7. Mid shot man pounding wooden stake (stob) into the ground and starting to rub iron over stob
8. Close up rubbing iron over stob, tilt down to earth vibrating
9. Wide shot worms coming out of earth
10. Mid shot worm
11. Close up worm
12. Wide shot man picking up worms from the ground
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Gary Revell, Worm grunter:
"There's an art to it, you know. I've tried to teach people how to do it, you know, and they just give up. They say they just don't understand how we can get these worms out of the ground with this stuff."
14. Tilt up Gary Revell rubbing iron over stob
15. Close up Gary Revell
16. Close up iron being rubbed over stob, tilt down to ground
17. Mid shot worm
18. Mid shot jar with worms
19. Mid shot man pounding wooden stake into the ground and starting to rub iron over stob
20. Mid shot iron being rubbed over stob
21. SOUNDBITE (English) Gary Revell, Worm grunter:
"You have to be really determined, you know. It's got to be in your blood to do this kind of work and be comfortable in the forest like we are."
22. Pull out to wide of man in forest
23. Mid shot Gary Revell tilt down to rubbing iron over stob
24. Close up worm
LEAD IN:
In the depths of a forest in Florida exists an unusual technique to catch worms.
Worm grunting is a art, where the ground vibrates in order to lure the worms out of the earth.
The use of this unconventional technique has captured the attention of a university researcher.

Worms usually come out when it rains, but this man knows another way to get them out of the ground.
Gary Revell is worm grunting - an unusual method that catches worms like magic.
He pounds a wooden stake, called a stob, into the ground and levels his 10-pound flat iron over the top.
Then he slowly, rhythmically, rubs the iron over the stob, back and forth.
He's making the ground vibrate with this technique and then suddenly, magically, big fat earthworms start to climb out of the soil.
Revell's explanation is that "there's an art to it," and that people give up because they don't understand how it works.
He and his colleagues are up before sunrise every day, working deep in the Apalachicola Forest near the Gulf of Mexico in north Florida, in a place called Tate's Hell.
It's a well-earned name because this place is swarming with hungry mosquitoes, pestering gnats and poisonous snakes.
It is here that they catch worms by grunting.
The vibrations bring out the worms, slithering everywhere on the forest floor.
They are like pink gold to these grunters and the men quickly gather up the harvest in their plastic buckets.
A researcher at Vanderbilt University wanted to understand the science behind worm grunting.
So he watched Gary work his magic and concluded that rubbing the stob mimics the vibrations of a mole digging in the ground, trying to prey on the worms.
This means the worms climb out of the earth to avoid being eaten.
Ironically, they end up as bait.
Revell is a professional grunter who makes his living by catching worms for bait.
The worm grunters make about $25 a bucket.
They are not getting rich, but it pays the bills.
And they are comfortable in this no-man's land.

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