Charles Darwin and Worm Research

I have been reading on the life of Darwin and noticed that discussion is given to Darwin's publication about earthworms. "The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms, With Observations on Their Habits, published in 1881, sold even better than On the Origin of Species during Darwin's lifetime."

It is interesting that NPR in mentioning this trivia point did not refer to a similar work published almost 100 years earlier. The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne. Published by Gilbert White. (18 July 1720 – 26 June 1793) White was a pioneering naturalist and ornithologist.who wrote about the significance of earthworms.

Earthworms, though in appearance a small and despicable link in the chain of nature, yet, if lost, would make a lamentable chasm [...] worms seem to be the great promoters of vegetation, which would proceed but lamely without them...

Some scholars think Darwin was the first major observer of the benefit of earthworms. in NPR.org's article Darwin's Earthworm Experiments Broke New Ground.by Joe Palca we read:

"At the time when Darwin started looking at the worms, no one appreciated the role they had in agriculture," says Alun Anderson, a journalist who became interested in Darwin's worm work.In fact, Anderson says, in the mid 19th century, most people thought earthworms were pests.

Could it be that because White was a Christian clergyman who held a bias in creationism, his work is ignored? I think so.