374 
Supplement to the " Tropical Afjriculiurist." [Nov, 1, 1898, 
top fiR you cnn get. Sweep any bees off lliat 
comb with a little briisli of leaves and put it a.?ido. 
Then cut the rest out one by one. The bees will 
cluster round in the corners of the old box, while 
you take each comb, and tit and tie it with tapes 
into a bar-frame. If the comb is deeper or wider 
than the frame, lay it on top, and run the knife 
along. It cuts quite slick. When all the frames 
are fixed up, and you have taken care that on 
some part of them there is a full queen cell left, 
put them into the bar-frame hive. Tills should 
then be placed over the gin-cnse. The latter 
should be rapped to drive the bees upwards into 
the new hive, and as a rule they will go up readily. 
Of coarse this part of the ba -iness is e.vpedited by 
gently seizing tlie quenn, and placing her in the 
new hive, when her followers will troop in after 
her. When all are snugly housed, take the new 
hive back to the site of tlie old one, and be careful 
to place it in exactly the same ])osiiion. In tying 
the comb in with tape, bo careful to knot it in a 
way that the fastenings can easily be untlone 
without jarring the comb. After the bees have 
been in their new quarters a few days, and if 
tliey appear to be contented, raise the lid of the 
hive, and you will probuldy find that the combs 
have been cemented to the top of the frame witli 
vrax. If that is so, undo the knots and carefully 
withdraw the tapes. 
[The above information, which, from the many 
enquiries we have received should prove acceptahle 
to our readers, is taken from tlie Ar/ricultural 
Gazette of New South Wales. — Ed. A.M.j 
— ♦ 
MANURING OF COCONUTS. 
We have been asked to|cousider the case of a coco- 
nut garden in which it is practicable to use neither 
cattle manure nor bone dust, and to suggest a 
means of fertilising the soil with other manures. 
The garden in question is so situated that there are 
no supplies of cattle manure available, while the 
absence of all pasture on the land makes it impr:ic- 
ticable to keep cattle for manuring purposes. As 
regards bone dust there is the likelihood of the stuff 
being appropriated or sold for use on paddy lantls. 
One of the best local authori(ie,s on coconut 
planting uses the following mixture, (cAc/j mo c«f^/e 
manure is available: — 
Castor cake ... ... 6 lb. ) 
Bone dust ... ... 2 „ > per tree. 
Wood ashes ... ... 8 ., | 
This suffices for 2 years. Half the quantity of 
castor cake would suffice if two head of cattle were 
tied per tree for say 5 nights. 
Taking the percentage of phosphoric acid in 
bone meal as 2'i %, and in Thomas' phosphate as 
18 % (as supplied by Messrs. Freudenberg ) we find 
that the amount of bone dust might be replijced 
by 2^ or say 3 lbs. ; and taking the average percen- 
tage of potash in ordinary w ood ashes as u % aiid 
in kaiuit as 12 %, we find that the 8 lbs. of wood 
ashes may be replaced by 3^ or say 4 lbs. of kainit. 
Mr. Cochran gives the following proportions of 
the important elements of plant food in m.uuires, 
as giving good results in moist soils: — 
Nitrogen... ... 1 lb. | 
Phosphoric acid ... 1-25 „ [-per tree. 
Potash ... ... 75 to 1 „ J 
These proportions calculateil for castor cake, 
Thomas' phosphate and sulpliate of potash would 
work out us follows : — 
Castor cake ... ... lbs. 
Bone dust ... ... 5 6 „ 
(Or Thomas' phosphate " « J 
Sulphate of potar^h ... 2 „ 
But Mr. Cochran puts down the Thomas' phos- 
phate at only .'» lbs., e.splaining, however, that tlie 
item was made a little less owing to its being more 
soluble, and therefore more readily available than 
bonepiiosphate. But the reduction which makes 
the item less than half the quantity can hardly be 
described as a " little less." 
The quantities of castor cake and bone dust equi- 
valent to the above form ula of important elements of 
plant food will strike many as being rather high — 
15 lbs. castor cake and more than b\ lbs. bone dust. 
We are assuming, of c jurse, that the manuring 
is intended to be done once in two years, but per- 
haps Mr. Cochran intends that it should be done 
less frequently ? 
THE USES OF WOOD. 
( Continued. ) 
Wf.ioiit is ftn important indicator of the 
mechanical qualities ot wood and a direct measure 
of its value <\s fuel or material for coaling and 
dry distillation, and often deteiniines the choice 
of woods lor a particular purpose. Thus, panels 
and other surface lumber in vehicles, tiiraslieru, 
and other movable articles, wliich should be no 
heavier than necessary to perform their function, 
and all lumber for shipping crates and boxes, 
especially where these mu>!t be light and stiff, 
are invariably selected from the lightest wood 
obtainable. Generally .'peaking;, our conifers are 
lighter tiian the hard woods, but there are light 
and heavy kinds in both. 
Shrinking, swelling, warping, and checking are 
the g:eatest drawbacks to the use of wood, and 
are all expressions of the same i)r(>perty of wood 
material, namely, its hygroscopicity, or capacity 
to absoib or give off water and thereby change 
its volume. All the walls of the cells prow 
thicker if a dry piece is moistened. This increases 
the size of the cells and thereby the s'ze of the 
jnece. The laiyer the sinfj;le ceil elements the 
more rapidly the water can get to or from all 
parts, and tlie nearer all cells are alike in size 
the more nearly they shrink and swell 
alike. 
This explains why pine or other coniferous wood 
shrinks and swells much more evenly than 
hard woods, and also why they are more 
susceptible to moisture. It also accounts for the 
fact that the li<,diter hard woods give so much 
less trouble in shrinking and swelling than the 
heavier ones. 
Since the chemical composition of the cell wall 
ot all woods is quite similar, the value of wood 
as fuel and in day distillation merely depends 
on its weight. Oi the chemical properties im- 
portant in consti uction, it is c' i fly durabilty, 
and colour which enter iuto the selection of 
materials, both dependent on chemical combina- 
tions. What the substances are which make the 
heart of cedar and white oak durable and what 
