2 N. H. AGR. EXPERIMENT STATION [Bulletin 301 



time insure himself the protection of the law. If the 

 buyer fails to assure himself that the legal requirements 

 have been met, he accepts the fertilizer at his own risk. 

 Whether or not the purchaser familiarizes himself with 

 the complete text of the fertilizer law, he should not 

 accept from the dealer any bag of fertilizer which is not 

 tagged and guaranteed in compliance with the law. The 

 law governing these matters follows: 



"Every lot or parcel of commercial fertilizer or ferti- 

 lizer material sold or offered or exposed for sale within 

 this state shall be accompanied by a plainly printed state- 

 ment, 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 loca- 

 tion 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 expected 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 would doubtless soon appear 

 upon the market if the sale of fertilizer was not under 

 state regulation. The value of a fertilizer depends main- 

 ly upon its content of available plant food, particularly 

 nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash. The presence of 

 these constituents can only be determined by a chemical 

 analysis. To insure that they are being furnished by the 

 manufacturer in the guaranteed amounts, it is necessary 

 that each brand of fertilizer offered for sale be officially 



