INSPECTION OF COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS 



Made for the 

 State Department of Agriculture 



The inspection of commercial fertilizers reported in this bulletin was made 

 under the direction of the Honorable Perley I. Fitts, Commissioner of Agricul- 

 ture. Mr. George H. Laramie, Fertilizer Control Supervisor, and Mr. Vincent 

 P. Peterson, Inspector, collected samples of 91 brands of mixed fertilizer and fer- 

 tilizer materials which were offered for sale by dealers or had been delivered to 

 consumers during the year ending June, 1949. The general character of the 

 brands sampled is shown by the following classification : 



Complete fertilizer 57 



Phosphoric acid and potash 9 



Superphosphate 8 



Nitrate of soda 1 



Ammonium nitrate 1 



Muriate of potash 3 



Ground bone 4 



Milorganite 1 



Natural manures 6 



Urea 1 



THE FERTILIZER LAW 



The purchaser of fertilizer should familiarize himself with the full text of 

 the fertilizer law. He should not accept from the dealer any bag of fertilizer 

 which is not tagged and guaranteed in compliance with the law. The law gov- 

 erning these matters follows: 



"Every lot or parcel of commercial fertilizer or fertilizer material sold or 

 offered or exposed for sale within this state shall be accompanied by a plainly 

 printed statement, clearly and truly certifying the number of net pounds of 

 fertilizer in the package; the name, brand or trademark under which the fer- 

 tilizer is sold; the name and address of the manufacturer or importer; the 

 location of the factory; and a chemical analysis stating the minimum percentage 

 of nitrogen, of available prosphoric acid and of water-soluble potash expressed 

 in whole numbers. 



"No fertilizer or fertilizer material containing the three essential fertilizing 

 elements, nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash may be sold or offered for sale 

 if the total minimum plant food nutrients contained therein is less than four- 

 teen per cent by weight, provided however that natural animal and bird manures 

 shall be excepted from the provisions of this section." 



Copies of the full text of the law may be obtained from the Fertilizer Con- 

 trol Supervisor, State House, Concord, N. H. Inquiries concerning the law and 

 all matters relative to the registration of brands should be addressed to his 

 office. 



The chief purpose of the official inspection required by the fertilizer law 

 is to protect the consumer against the misbranded products which doubtless 

 would soon appear on the market if the sale of fertilizer was not under state 

 regulation. The value of a fertilizer depends mainly upon its content of avail- 

 able plant food, particularly nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash. The presence 



