THE 044 



GARDEN YARD ^ 



Before you raise any crop you must know your 

 soil, not by chemical analysis which is interest- 

 ing and often helpful, but by finding out what 

 it will grow by nature and what is the easiest 

 way that nature can be helped; and the quicker 

 you can find out these things the better for 

 your prospects. The simplest and quickest 

 method of finding out what fertilizers your soil 

 needs to grow your crops, is by using the paraffin 

 basket. This is a very pretty experiment and 

 one in which you can readily interest the chil- 

 dren so that they may get their knowledge early. 



The requirements are galvanized wire netting 

 of one-eighth inch mesh; parafiin, which can be 

 bought cheaply at any druggist's; and a pair 

 of scales which will weigh accurately to one- 

 fourth of an ounce. 



Cut your netting into strips 10 inches long and 

 3| inches wide; fasten the ends of strips to- 

 gether 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 wiU 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 



