June 2, 1920.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 395 



germination. Apparently in some cases the electrified seed made the better 

 start. At Wye the young plants from the electrified seeds, both of oats and 

 barley, at first showed greater vigour than those from unti^eated seed, ,but the 

 superiority soon vanished. This, however, is not unusual : at Rothamsted no 

 such difference was seen ; in Professor Stapledon's gerniination tests, the 

 treatf^d seeds were not quite so good as were the untreated. Nevertheless, the 

 occasional help to germination derivv-'d from one or other parts of the 

 treatment may prove of value in certain field operations, and thus lead to 

 a better crop than would otherwise ensue. It is' iaipossible to prove a 

 negative proposition ; a few unexceptional positive results outweigh any 

 amount of negative evidence, and would show that the tieatment had 

 some merit. 



"The failure, however, of electrified seed to give any increase in vield 

 under the carefully-controlled conditions of the experimental station 

 trials, shows that the pi'ocess lacks certainty. It cannot be compared in 

 effectiveness with manuring, which succeeds nearly every time if properly 

 done. The writer is not prepared oa present evidence to say that the 

 process never succeeds, but the risk of failure seems so gKeat that the 

 farmer should look upon it as an adventure which may or may not prove 

 profitable." 



Mice as an Apiary Pest. 



MiCR are inclined to be a pest to the apiarist in some localities during" 

 the winter ; not only do they damage surplus combs left accessible to them, 

 but they even dare to enter the hive and do some damage there. In the 

 coastal districts and in other wai-m localities during summer apiarists 

 generally favour the full inch entrance, and though this entrance is in some 

 cases somewhat contracted in preparation for the cold weather the depth is 

 not altered. During winter the bees will form their cluster and leave a 

 portion of the comb near the entrance unprotected, and late in the winter 

 they are often in the super, thus leaving the whole lower body unprotected. 

 During night time the mice go into the hive and damage the unprotected 

 combs, often to the extent of making large holes through the breeding combs. 

 The first sign that mice arS about is an unusual quantity of wax pieces 

 about the entrance ; if it is a bad case the wax pieces will be on the ground 

 as well, and the bottom board and entrance will be covered. If tfiCre is 

 evidence of the hives having been entered by mice the body sliould be prized 

 up and the bottom boards cleaned ; then, if the day is warm enough and it 

 can be done without materially disturbing the cluster of bees, an examina- 

 tion should be made to ascertain that no mice are camped in the hive. This' 

 being done a piece of queen excluder should be put at the entrance. A 

 |-inch entrance will usually prevent the entry of mice without the excluder, 

 but where the mice have eot a start the excluder is necessarv. Sometimes 

 damage to the combs goes on and the apiarist is unaware of the trouble, 

 for in the spring the bees rebuild the damaged comb. The common result 

 in such cases is that an undesirable quantity of drone comb is built in, and 

 the wax scraps left on the bottom board offer inducement and protection for 

 wax moths. Apart from this, the work of the bees during spring is 

 considerably hindered. — W. A. Goodacre, Senior Apiary Inspector. 



