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. Harold W. 

 Ayer Assistant Control Supervisor, collected 120 samples of mixed fertilizer 

 and fertilizer materials which were offered for sale by dealers or had been de- 

 livered to consumers during the year ending June, 1954. The general character 

 of the brands sampled is shown by the following classification : 



Complete fertilizer 79 



Phosphoric acid and potash 12 



Nitrogen and Phosphoric acid 1 



Superphosphate 8 



Nitrate of Soda 1 



Ammonium nitrate 1 



Muriate of Potash 1 



Ground bone 5 



Natural manures 10 



Tankage 2 



THE FERTILIZER LAW 



Copy of the full text of the law may be obtained from the Fertilizer Control 

 Supervisor, State House, Concord, New Hampshire. All inquiries relative to the 

 registration of brands and of matters relating to the enforcement of the law 

 should be addressed to his office. 



The law governing the guarantees and labeling of commercial fertilizers 

 or fertilizer materials 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 fertilizer 

 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 phosphoric 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 fourteen 

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

 shall be excepted from the provisions of this section." 



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 the fertilizer was not under state 

 regulation. The purchaser of fertilizer or fertilizer materials should acquaint 

 himself with the full text of the law. He should not accept from the dealer any 

 bag of fertilizer which is not tagged and guai-anteed in compliance with the law. 

 If he does so, it is at his own risk. 



The value of a fertilizer depends mainly upon its content of available plant 

 food, particularly nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash. Research workers in 



