1006 Agricultural Jjurnal of Victoria. 



an early publicity in your local press. The Department fully recognises the necessity 

 of protecting the farmer from fraud in his purchase of artificial manures, and looks to 

 the Agricultural Societies to assist in this direction. 



I am, dear Sir, Yours faithfully, 



FRED. J, HOWELL, 



Chemist for Agriadtiti c. 



This IS to certify that I have purchased tons of 



from (it f(i toil, and that no Invoice Certificate 



showing the composition of tlie manure was delivered to vie cither before or at the time of 

 purchase. 



Dated at this day of 7907, 



Sii^nature . 

 ]Vitness to Signatiiie 



Report sent to Agricultural Societies. 



THE ANALYSIS OF MANURES. 



The present .Artificial Manures Act does not provide for the free analysis of manures 

 for the farmer by the .Vgricultural Chemist. It makes provision, however, for the 

 analysis of a manure from any purchaser on the payment of a fee of £1 Is. This provi- 

 sion has never yet been taken advantage of by the farmer. Having no means, there- 

 fore, through the initiative of the farmer himself to check anv frauds which might be 

 practised, this office considered it ad\'isable to undertake the free analysis of manures 

 and has willingly undertaken this work under certain conditions, both with samples 

 sent in, and samples collected by its own officers. 



THE WORK OF THE PRESENT YEAR. 



Fiekl orticers, with the view of collecting samples, haxe \isited the Geelong 

 Brighton, Colac, Horsham, Minyip, Dunolly, Charlton and Boort centres. Eighty 

 samples have been collected from these centres and analysed. Out of the total 

 number collected invoice certificates from only 25 persons have been obtainable. A 

 number of purchasers stated that a number of certificates had been given, but lost, 

 others flatly refused to sign a form stating that no certificate had Vieen given, but in 

 o2 cases farmers who had received no certificate were willing to give their signature 

 to that effect, and in all these cases I have asked that prosecution might take place. 

 Failure to comply with the Manure .\ct was reported in the following places ; — 



7 cases at . . - . . . Horsham 



10 ,, .. .. •• Warracknabeal. 



1 ,, .. .. .. Minyip. 



3 ,, .. .. .. Wvcheproof. 



1 ,, .. .. .. Dunolly. 



2 ,, .. .. .. Charlton. 



7 ,, .. .. .. Geelong. 



1 ,, .. .. .. Brighton. 



SAMPLES SENT IN BY BODIES REPRESENTING FARMERS 



In addition to the samples collected by my field officers, 18 samples were sent in 

 b) bodies representing farmers. These were made up of 4 samples from Nhill, (> 

 from Minyip, 'A from Warracknabeal, and '> from Charlton. In offering to carry out 

 the work without charge from these liodies, the request was made that invoice certifi- 

 cates should accompany the samples. Although there are various reasons justifying 

 such a request, the principal of which was to obtain information as to whether certifi- 

 cates had been furnished, and prosecute in cases of non-compliance with the section of 

 the Act prescribing it, the request in cases seems, from the statements of my field 

 officers, to have been subjected to a very wrong intrepretation, an interpretation 

 which I venture to think can onl\- be confined to a \ery small section of the farming 

 community-. 



