PROCEEDINGS OF THE THIRD ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 499 



The small output of tlie machine, about 4 ardebs an hour, prevented 

 its adoption on a commercial scale. It had, however, excited sufficient 

 notice to the problem, and as a consequence other machines were offered 

 to the Ministry of Agriculture for testing, in which seed treatment by- 

 heat is applied. The first of these other machines offered us was 

 Messrs. Simon's machine for drying malt. 



This machine consists of a horizontal cylinder in which revolves 

 a skeleton comprising five longitudinal steam pipes and an equal number 

 of bars carrying flanges which serve to mix up the seed. The seed is 

 fed at the top at one end of the cylinder and makes its way out through 

 a hole in the side near the other end. 



The machine was remarkably successful, especially after a regular 

 automatic feed was fitted. If worked properly, it kills all the worms 

 in the seed without affecting the germination in the least. It had long 

 been desired to force the giimers to kill all the worms in the seed. Until 

 this machine was tested it had not been possible to ask for legislation 

 in this direction, but after the possibilities of this apparatus had been 

 demonstrated there was no longer any obstacle to legislation. 



As a consequence. Law No. 29 of 1916 was passed, which orders 

 that every ginnery must be fitted with an approved machine for the 

 destruction of the worms in the seed, and that the machines must be 

 worked to the satisfaction of the Ministry of Agriculture. The Ministry 

 was given the power to enter any ginnery, inspect, take samples and, 

 in case the worms are not being killed, to stop the ginnery and to destroy 

 all seed containing living worms. This could all be done before 

 obtaining a judgment. If found gailty of contravening, the offender 

 gets off with a fine of up to one pound and, or, one week's imprison- 

 ment. The judge must, however, order the destruction of seed con- 

 taining living worms if asked to do so by the public prosecutor. This 

 power to stop a ginnery from working and to destroy seed is relied on as 

 a preventive, the legal penalty being inadequate. 



The passing of this law caused still more interest to be taken by 

 engineers in the seed treatment problem, and many more machines 

 were presented for trial or in plans. An account of all of these is given 

 by Storey in Bulletin No. 14, " Machines for the Treatment oj Cotton Seed 

 against PinJc Bollworm (1918)," from which paper I am quoting freely. 

 In this place I intend only to refer to the two most successful of them, 

 one of which has been approved by the Ministry of Agriculture for 

 erection and as fulfilling all legal requirements. 



The simpler of the two is Lenzi's machine. It consists of a long 

 narrow cylinder, steam- jacketed all round, in which revolves an axle 



