materials, only the total phosphoric acid need be guaranteed. Additional plant 

 food elements, determinable by chemical methods, may be guaranteed only by 

 permission of the commissioner by and with the advice of the director of the 

 agi'icultural experiment station. When any such additional plant foods are 

 claimed, they shall be included in the guarantee, and shall be subject to inspec- 

 tion and analysis in accordance with the methods and regulations that may be 

 prescribed by the commissioner. 



(b) A distributor shall not be required to register any brand of commercial 

 fertilizer which is already registered hereunder by another person. 



(c) The plant food content of each and every brand of commercial fer- 

 tilizer must remain uniform for the period of registration. 



Sec. 5: Labeling, (a) Any commercial fertilizer offered for sale or sold 

 or distributed in this state in bags, barrels, or other containers shall have placed 

 on or affixed to the container in written or printed form the net weight and the 

 information required. (1), (2) and (3) of paragraph (a) of section 4 either 

 (1) on tags affixed to the end of the package between the ears and/or on the 

 sewed end or (2) directly on the package, (b) If distributed in bulk, a written 

 or printed statement of the weight and the information required by (1), (2) 

 and (3) of paragraph (a) of section 4 shall accompany delivery and be supplied 

 to the purchaser. 



Penalty provisions — The Law provides for the levying of a penalty amount- 

 ing to three times the commercial value of the constituent found deficient when 

 deficiencies exceeding allowed tolerances are found. The following table of 

 tolerances as adopted by the State Department of Agriculture is quoted from 

 the Rules and Regulations of that Department. 



The chief purpose of the official inspection of fertilizers is to protect the 

 consumer against misbranded products that probably would soon appear on the 

 market if the sale of fertilizer was not under state regulation. If the consumer 

 accepts fertilizer not labeled in compliance with the law, he does so at his own 

 risk. He should acquaint himself with the requirements of the law concerning 

 labeling and be familiar with the terms and symbols used on the label. 



A commercial fertilizer generally supplies one or more of three elements: 

 nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium; which are commonly required in relatively 

 large amounts for plant growth. The percentage of each of these three materials 

 is usually represented by numerals in designating the grade of a fertilizer. 

 These percentages are presently expressed in terms of nitrogen, phosphorus 

 pentoxide and potash and the symbols used are N, PjO.-, and K-0 respectively. 

 The term phosphoric acid is commonly used when referring to the phosphorus 

 content. 



Under certain conditions, other elements such as magnesium, boron and 

 other so-called minor elements are needed to correct soil deficiencies in certain 

 localities. These may be included in the mixed fertilizer. 



Much advertising of fertilizer materials packed in small packages is directed 

 to the attention of the home gardener and growers of house plants. This small 

 package serves a definite need, however the "miracle" results claimed may not 

 always be obtained. In general, it is more economical for the gardener to pur- 

 chase fertilizer of a reliable brand and in reasonably large packages. 



All control officials charged with the enforcement of state laws regulating 

 the sale of commercial fertilizers and fertilizer materials are joined in the Asso- 

 ciation of American Fertilizer Control Officials. Research workers employed by 

 State or Federal Agencies engaged in the investigation of fertilizers are also 

 members of this Association. The object of this organization is to "promote 



