(c) The plant food content of each and every brand of commercial fertilizer 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 informaion 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 amounting 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. 



Available 

 Total Nitrogen Phosphoric Acid 



Guarantee Deficiency Guarantee Deficiency 



inc. 0.40 



o "" 



25% 



0.50 

 0.75 



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 represented by 

 numerals in designating the grade of a fertilizer. These percentages are presently ex- 

 pressed in terms of nitrogen, phosphorus pentoxide and potash and the symbols used 

 are N, P.,0_ and K o O 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 ob- 

 tained. In general, it is more economical for the gardener to purchase 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 Association of Ameri- 

 can 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 uniform and effective legislation, definitions, 

 rulings, and enforcement of laws relating to the control of sale and distribution of mixed 

 fertilizers and fertilizer materials in the Continent of North America. At the annual 

 meetings of the Association, reports and recommendations of investigators concerning 

 definitions of fertilizer materials, use of new products, and problems concerning regula- 

 tion of the fertilizer trade are discussed in detail. Fertilizer manufacturers are invited 

 to participate; in these discussions and through mutual cooperation, the farmer is sup- 

 plied with a product that can be relied upon to do the job expected in crop production. 

 The official publication of the Association may be obtained for a small fee through the 

 office of its secretary, B. D. Cloaninger, Clemson, South Carolina. This booklet contains 

 the official terms describing fertilizer materials, a proposed model state fertilizer law, 

 as well as the proceedings of the annual meeting. 



Whether or not a fertilizer contains the guaranteed amount of plant food can be 

 determined only by a chemical analysis. For this reason, it is considered necessary that 

 each brand of fertilizer offered for sale be officially sampled and analyzed each year. 



