19 



WITH REFERENCE TO NATURE'S PLANT FOOD. 



It seems desirable that another short (and we hope final) chapter be written 

 with reference to this ground metamorphic rock. In January, 1919, the 

 Secretary of Agriculture at Washington made a final ruling with reference to 

 the sale of this product, which was in form of an order addressed to the 

 Nature's Fertilizer Company and to the effect " that the said company desist 

 and refrain from selling or offering for sale within the United States the article 

 known as Nature's Fertilizer or Nature's Plant Food and Soil Rectifier under 

 any form of representation, direct or indirect, that it has a distinct value as 

 a fertilizer, or is equal or superior to the usual and well-recognized kinds of 

 commercial fertilizer, and particularly under such representations as are con- 

 tained in the pamphlets entitled: 'The New Farmer' (copyright 1918, 

 Nature's Fertilizer Company) ; ' Nature's Mineral Plant Food and Soil Recti- 

 fier ' (copyright by Ernie Grummer, Agent, March, 1917); ' Plant Food and 

 Soil Rectifier ' (copyright by W. M. McCrillis, 1915) ; and ' The New Mineral 

 Plant Food ' (copyright 1911)." 



The above order was effective in stopping the sales of the ground meta- 

 morphic rock as a fertilizer. Subsequently, however, the fertilizer company 

 made application and secured a registration for a product called Nature's 

 Fertilizer. The basis of this product was made up of the ground rock, but 

 nitrate of soda, potash salt, and soft Florida phosphate had been mixed with 

 it so as to furnish a minimum of 1 per cent of nitrogen, 1 per cent of water 

 soluble potash and 3 per cent of total phosphoric acid. Representative 

 samples of this product were collected and analyzed and will be found in the 

 tables of analyses. Another brand was later registered by this company, 

 called Nature's Fertilizer No. 2, which was guaranteed one-half of 1 per 

 cent of nitrogen, one-half per cent of water soluble potash, 1 per cent of total 

 phosphoric acid, 5 per cent of lime and 5 per cent of magnesium. Samples 

 of this brand were not secured and, so far as we know, none was sold. 

 Although these two brands of fertilizer may be legally sold, as they possess a 

 minimum guarantee of available plant food as provided by law, yet it Avill be 

 readily seen that the low analysis must make the small amount of available 

 plant food present in a ton of the mixtures very expensive, as the ton price 

 of the No. 1 brand was about $75. 



Life Rock Company. — During the spring of 1919 Mr. Frank P. Fogg, 

 represented as president of the Life Rock Company, 44 Bromfield Street, 

 Boston, Mass., made sales of a material which he advertised as Life Rock. 



