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COLLECTION OF SAMPLES. 



The collection of fertilizer samples has been in charge of Mr. James T. 

 Howard, assisted by Mr. William L. Dowd, who covered the greater part of 

 the State, excepting the Connecticut Valley and adjacent districts, where the 

 sampling was done largely by Mr. Daniel Dowd. Although the reduction in 

 the number of brands registered for sale in the State naturally reduced the 

 number of brands and samples taken by the inspectors, yet the statistics 

 show that nearly double the tonnage was sampled as compared with the 

 previous year. The actual spring collection began the last week in March, 

 and prior to that date many carloads of wood ashes, cottonseed meal and fer- 

 tilizer materials for home mixing were sampled and analyzed. This early 

 inspection work is done almost wholly upon request of the purchaser. It is 

 felt that it is an important feature of the inspection work, particularly as it 

 precludes the probability of such samples being improperly taken and sub- 

 mitted for analysis by the purchaser. 



The following statistics have been gathered in regard to the 1918 collec- 

 tion: sacks sampled 17,784, representing 9,086 tons of fertilizer; 111 towns 

 were visited; 981 samples, representing 380 distinct brands, were drawn from 

 stock found in the possession of 322 different agents or owners. 



FERTILIZERS ANALYZED. 



Six hundred and eighteen analyses (371 distinct brands) have been made 

 during the year's inspection. Five hundred and ninety-six of these are pub- 

 lished in this bulletin. Twenty-two analyses have not been published. They 

 were largely private mixtures, officially collected but not registered. The 

 registered brands analyzed are as follows : — 



