148 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



I see men here to-day, who have bought it for years, and are 

 entirely satisfied. From three to four per cent, of ammonia, 

 and from seven to ten per cent, of soluble phosphoric acid 

 have been the constituent parts of these fertilizers for some 

 years. 



From the speech of the gentleman who opened the discus- 

 sion this morning, a man would natiu'ally think that a part}'' 

 could not be engaged in the sale of commercial fertilizers, 

 nor in the manufacture of commercial fertilizers, unless he 

 was a rascal who ought to be sent to the penitentiary. Now, 

 gentlemen, for aught I know, the manufacturers of commer- 

 cial fertilizers are just as honorable men as any men in the 

 community. Do we not find cheats in every trade ; in the 

 manufacture of cream tartar, of saleratus, in all the manu- 

 factures that are sold? And, to come a little closer home, 

 gentlemen, do we not sometimes get cheated when we buy 

 a load of wood, or when we buy butter or cheese? And^ 

 now our good state legislature has come forward and given 

 us a law which says we must put a label on our barrels, 

 showing how much phosphoric acid and how much ammonia 

 there is in our products. I can point you to three or four 

 manufacturers, right here in New England, who have been 

 putting such labels on their barrels for the last six years, and 

 if you have been swindled, you have had the remedy before 

 you all the time ; a prosecution would have stopped us. We 

 are just as liable to sufl:er for our criminality as any other set 

 of men ; there is no question about that. The law passed 

 last winter simply elFects Avhat was effected before, and no 

 more. As Prof. Goessmann says, the law allows him just 

 about half the money for an analj^sis that it ought to allow. 

 I know what it costs to make a proper analysis, but the law 

 authorizes him to take only fifteen dollars. I do not find any 

 ftiult with the law, gentlemen, but I do fiud fault with those 

 men who come here and condemn every man who is manu- 

 facturing or selling a fertilizer. The manufacturer sells his 

 article as an honest article, and if he sells a single pound 

 that does not come up to his certificate, he is liable to punish- 

 ment. I am very well acquainted with several of the manu- 

 facturers, and so far as I know, they conduct their business 

 honorably. This young gentleman I am not acquainted with, 



