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 Agriculture. 

 Mr. George H. Laramie, Fertilizer Control Supervisor, and Mr. Harold W. Ayer, 

 Inspector, collected samples of 123 brands of mixed fertilizer and fertilizer ma- 

 terials which were offered for sale by dealers or had been delivered to consumers 

 during the year ending June, 1953. The general character of the brands sampled 

 is shown by the following classification: 



Complete fertilizer 75 



Phosphoric acid and potash 15 



Superphosphate 8 



Nitrate of Soda 2 



Ammonium nitrate 2 



Ammonium sulfate 1 



Ground bone 5 



Natural manures 10 



Tankage 2 



Milorganite 2 



Soil Conditioner 1 



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 regula- 

 tion. 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 guaranteed 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 



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