New York Agricultural Experiment Station. 149 



XIV. The New York Fertilizer Law and its Meaning. 



The legislative enactment in regard to the purchase and sale of 

 fertilizers in this State became a law on May 24, 1890. Its execu- 

 tion was placed in the charge of the Geneva Experiment Station, 

 which, in July, 18^0, organized the work and began active oper- 

 ations. The first prosecution begun under the provisions of this 

 law was successful in the County Court, but, on appeal to the 

 Supreme Court, was thrown out on account of a technical defect in 

 one portion of the law. This defect was remedied by an amend- 

 ment which became operative May 9, 1894. The Station was, 

 therefore, unable to carry out prosecutions under the law of 1890, 

 and the first opportunity to execute, in this respect, the provisions 

 of the amended law came with the samples collected in the summer 

 and fall of 1894. 



During the summer and fall of 1894, 165 samples of fertilizers 

 were collected, out of which eleven brands fell so far below the 

 guaranteed analysis as to call for prosecution on the part of the 

 Station. These cases were distributed as follows : two each in 

 Oneida, Monroe and Yates counties ; one each in Erie and Albany 

 counties ; and three in Kew York city. The witnesses of the 

 Station appeared before different grand juries and succeeded in 

 securing several indictments. The goods in these cases showed a 

 deficiency, expressed in money value, varj'ing all the way from 

 $1.50 to $6 per ton. Two brands were deficient in potash alone; 

 five in phosphoric acid alone ; one in both potash and nitrogen ; and 

 three in both phosphoric acid and nitrogen. 



Since July, 1890, there have been collected and analyzed over 

 2,300 samples of commercial fertilizers. There are now on the 

 Station books the addresses of over 120 firms doing business in this 

 State. Of these there are 53 firms whose goods are manufactured 

 in other States. 



Since October, 1890, there have been published 16 fertilizer bul- 

 letins containing 6G0 pages. Of each of these an average of more 

 than 15,000 copies has been distributed among the farmers of this 

 State, making an aggregate of 11,000,000 pages. 



In June, 1895, the following circular was sent to all manufac- 

 turers of fertilizers selling goods in this State : 



We desire to call your special attention to some points regarding 

 the New York Fertilizer Law, about which there appears to be 

 more or less confusion in the minds of manufacturers and dealers. 



