



United States Department of Agriculture, 



BUREAU OF SOILS CIRCULAR No. 18. 



MILTON WHITNEY, Chief of Bureau. 



THE WIRE-BASKET METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE MANURIAL 

 REQUIREMENTS OF SOILS. 



This circular has been prepared to meet the many requests received 

 by the Bureau of Soils for detailed information concerning the wire- 

 basket method for determining the manurial requirements of soils. The 

 method consists in growing plants in small wire pots containing soil 

 to which fertilizers of different kinds and in varying quantities have 



FIG. 1. Construction of wire basket. 



been added. The pots are of peculiar construction and are planned to 

 enable the comparison of the several fertilizing ingredients by actual 

 measurements of the transpiration of the growing plants, though the 

 efficiency of the treatments may also be judged by cutting and weigh- 

 ing the plants at the end of two or thwsp^RgSflks, or in many cases by 

 the appearance of the plants aloner. " or TH 



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