CONFORMITY TO GUARANTEE 



The chemical analyses reported in this bulletin were made by the methods adopted 

 by the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists. The following list indicates the 

 number of samples equalling or failing to meet guarantee: 



Number of samples analyzed 174 



Equalling or exceeding all guarantees 106 



Deficient in nitrogen only 34 



Deficient in phosphoric acid only 10 



Deficient in potash only 14 



Deficient in nitrogen and phosphoric acid 2 



Deficient in nitrogen and potash 3 



Deficient in phosphoric acid and potash 2 



Deficient in nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash 1 



Forty-two samples were guaranteed to contain Magnesium oxide. Of these, thirteen 

 indicated the guarantee as water-soluble magnesium oxide. In these thirteen cases, the 

 total magnesium oxide was not determined. Slight deficiencies were found in three 

 cases of water-soluble magnesium oxide. 



Boron was guaranteed in nine samples. Three exceeded the guarantee, five were 

 very slightly below the guarantee, and one was deficient. 



Most of the deficiencies were not great enough to invoke the penalty clause of the 

 law. There were far too many small deficiencies and the manufacturer should allow 

 a slightly larger safety margin to insure meeting all guarantees. 



Fertilizers are largely mixtures of chemicals. Segregation of these materials in the 

 bag is difficult to prevent. Modern methods of fertilizer manufacture are doing much 

 to process the fertilizer in such a way that segregation will be avoided. The solution of 

 this problem is difficult. To obtain a truly representative sample of a fertilizer mixture 

 requires careful work. The chemist can accurately determine the nitrogen, phosphoric 

 acid, and potash content of the sample sent to the laboratory. If this sample does not 

 correctly represent the larger lot, the analytical work is of no use. The obligation of 

 the fertilizer control program is to see that the manufacturer is supplying the guaranteed 

 amount of plant food to the consumer. For this reason, the sample must be drawn and 

 analyzed very carefully so that injustice will not be done to either the consumer or 

 manufacturer. 



The penalty clause was invoked in six cases for nitrogen, seven cases for phosphoric 

 acid and five cases for potash shortages. Bold type and underline in the analyses report 

 table shows these values. In the following table, the names of the manufacturers are 

 arranged alphabetically. The brand names are listed alphabetically and numerically by 

 formula, under the name of the manufacturer. 



COMMERCIAL VALUE OF FERTILIZERS 



Section 10. of the New Hampshire Fertilizer Law of 1955, states "For the purpose 

 of determining the commercial values to be applied under the provisions of Section 7., 

 the Commissioner shall determine and publish annually, the values per pound of nitro- 

 gen, phosphoric acid and potash in commercial fertilizers in this State. The values so 

 determined and published shall be used in determining and assessing penalties." 



After consulting the fertilizer manufacturers selling the major tonnage of fertilizers 

 in New Hampshire, the Commissioner established and the Agricultural Advisory Board 

 approved on March 6, 1956, the following commercial values per pound of nitrogen, 

 phosphoric acid and potash: 



$3.00 per Unit or 15c per pound of Nitrogen 



$2.00 per Unit or 10c per pound of Phosphoric Acid 



$1.20 per Unit or 6c per pound of Potash 



March 27, 1956 



New Hampshire Department of Agriculture 



Concord, New Hampshire 



