REPORT OF BUREAU OF INSPECTION. lO/ 



Another feature, already spoken of, which marked the ferti- 

 lizer inspection for the year 191 6, was the explicit directions 

 given to the inspectors for drawing a sample fertilizer, as fol- 

 lows : 



"Select one package from the lot to be sampled and observe 

 carefully the markings upon it, noting the brand, the name of 

 the manufacturer, the town and the date — that is — the day and 

 time of day that the sampling took place. The guaranty should 

 also be observed and the amount of nitrogen, available phos- 

 phoric acid and potash reported, taking particular pains to 

 copy exactly this information given on the outside of the pack- 

 age ; then, wherever facilities are found, the package to be sam- 

 pled should be weighed. The information thus gathered from 

 the label on the package should be written down and assigned 

 an index number. 



"In sampling a barrel, an auger should be used for boring a 

 hole, boring as near the center of the head as possible, through 

 which the sampling tube can be inserted. 



"In sampling from bags, it will not be necessary to untie the 

 bags, but simply loosen the lacings or — perhaps without doing 

 this — force the tube between the lacings in the top of the bag. 



"The sample should be drawn from one package, only. 



"It will be found of advantage to place the package to be 

 sampled in a horizontal position. Close the tube ; insert the 

 tube in the package ; open the tube, allowing the fertilizer to 

 fill it, possibly assisting this operation by a slight motion of the 

 tube ; close the tube and draw from the package, emptying the 

 contents upon a strip of clean oil cloth ; repeat this process at 

 least three times, varying the position of the tube so that dif- 

 ferent parts of the package may be reached each time, then 

 thoroughly mix the portions drawn from the different parts of 

 the package until a fair composite sample has been obtained. 

 Put the mixture into a jar ; screw the cap on tightly ; apply the 

 sticker furnished for the purpose, bearing an index number 

 similar to the number on the slip descriptive of the sample and 

 including the information copied from the label." 



The results of following the above method of sampling have 

 shown no greater number of deficient samples than were found 

 last year, when the samples for analysis were obtained as com- 

 posite samples made up from portions drawn from several 

 packages : 



