Cut your netting into strips 10 inches long and 3½ inches wide; fasten the ends of strips together by hooking the end wires into the mesh or with small rivets. Then cut the wire at the bottom of the cylinder so as to make lugs about a half inch deep and bend the cut pieces under to form a partial bottom. Cut a circular piece of netting that will fit inside and drop it in, thus completing the bottom of the basket. Melt the paraffin, and while hot dip the top of the basket into it for about one inch. Draw it out, that it may cool, and dip again until a solid rim of paraffin is formed. Number each basket, as it is easier thus to keep a record of it. Place them on a tray, or in a shallow box, for greater ease in handling. Gather the soil in small quantities from different parts of your field or garden and mix it together. If you took it from one spot it would not be representative, any more than a Congress elected entirely from one section of the country could rightly be called a House of Representatives for the American people. Divide this whole amount of soil into equal parts, having one more part than you have fertilizers to test, because you should have one basket of untreated soil to act as a check to judge results by. Eleven sorts are usually tested, which makes it necessary for you to make twelve baskets altogether. 1. Untreated soil. 2. Soil with dry manure, at the rate of five tons per acre. 3. Soil with lime, one ton per acre. 4. Soil with nitrate of soda, 200 pounds per acre. 5. Soil with sulphate of potash, 200 pounds per acre. 6. Soil with acid phosphate, 200 pounds per acre. 7. Soil with nitrate of soda and sulphate of potash, 200 pounds each per acre. 8. Soil with nitrate of soda and acid phosphate, 200 pounds each per acre. 9. Soil with sulphate of potash and acid phosphate, 200 pounds each per acre. 10. Soil with nitrate of soda, sulphate of potash, acid phosphate, 200 pounds each per acre. 11. Soil with nitrate of soda, sulphate of potash, and acid phosphate, 200 pounds each per acre, with lime, 2000 pounds per acre. 12. Soil with cowpeas, 5000 pounds per acre, with lime, 2000 pounds per acre. It is important that the small portions of earth be fertilized in the same proportion as is here given for the field, so to 7¾ pounds of dry, finely pulverized soil, add one ounce of any one of these fertilizers. Mix very thoroughly and pass it through a sieve at least twice. This is still much too strong for use, so take one ounce of this fertilized soil and add it to five pounds more of soil, mixing and sifting as before. Then you have soil and fertilizer mixed at the rate of 200 pounds to the acre. For testing larger applications, make your first mixture with proportionally larger quantity of fertilizer.