INSPECTION OF COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS 11 



Thirteen different firms have registered five or more brands of mixed fertilizer. 

 Based upon composition found as well as upon tonnage sold, the above table 

 shows to what extent each manufacturer was successful in guarding against 

 deficiencies in plant food guarantee in his mixtures. All of the thirteen firms 

 provided an overrun in all three of the plant food elements guaranteed. Two 

 manufacturers, however, showed overruns in one element that were insufficient 

 to safely care for accidental variations in the composition of the materials usually 

 selected for use in fertilizer mixtures. 



Explanation of Tables of Analyses. 



Guarantee. The plant food guarantee or the grade of each fertilizer is made 

 a part of the trade name under the heading "Name of Manufacturer, Brand and 

 Grade," and is expressed as nitrogen, available phosphoric acid and water soluble 

 potash and in that order. 



Commercial Shortages. In the table designated "Mixtures showing a 

 commercial shortage of $1 or more per ton," the column headed "Approximate 

 commercial valuation per ton" gives the sum of the valuation of each plant 

 food element computed from the analysis by use of the trade values adopted 

 by the Massachusetts Fertilizer Control for 1934, which appear on a preceding 

 page of the bulletin. 



Under the heading "Approximate commercial shortage per ton" is shown the 

 commercial valuation of the deficiencies or tests found below the guarantee 

 after allowance is made for the value of overruns or tests above the guarantee. 



Deficiencies are emphasized by boldface type. 



Mixtures Substantially Complying with the Guarantee. In addition 

 to the analysis of those fertilizers substantially complying with the guarantee, 

 this table includes also those mixtures that are more or less out of balance; 

 that is, having deficiencies in one or more plant food elements, but having over- 

 runs which largely offset the value of the deficiencies. 



"Number of samples" indicates the number of samples included in the com- 

 posite which was analyzed. 



Inferior Nitrogen. The presence of inferior forms of organic nitrogen is indi- 

 cated by footnotes. 



Potash Forms. Wherever tests for chlorine showed a sufficient amount present 

 to unite with all of the potash found, the source of the potash is designated as 

 muriate. Wherever insufficient chlorine was found to account for all of the 

 potash it is evident that forms of potash other than muriate were used. In 

 such cases, the figures under the sub-heading "As muriate" do not imply nec- 

 essarily that muriate of potash was actually added to the mixture, but that 

 chlorine was present, probably from impurities in the fertilizer chemicals, in 

 amounts to account for the percentage of potash indicated. The balance of the 

 potash found is listed under the sub-heading "In forms other than muriate" 

 and may be derived from sulfate, nitrate, or carbonate, as the case may be. 



