352 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Middlesex South ; Mr. Hyde, upon the Hingham ; Mr. Ladd, 

 upon the Middlesex North ; Dr. Loring, upon the Hampden. 

 The report of Mr. Stockbridge, upon the Highland Society, 

 was also submitted, while permission was given to Col. Wildei, 

 Col. Clark and Major Phiimey to prepare and submit reports 

 upon the Worcester, the Middlesex and the Barnstalde socie- 

 ties, respectively. 



Prof. Goessmann then submitted his first report as State 

 Agricultural Chemist. 



REPORT ON COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS. 



In entering upon the duties assigned to the State Inspector 

 of Fertilizers, I found myself, for reasons already pointed out 

 at the late meeting of the State Board of Agriculture, in an 

 unfavorable position for efficient work. 



As the main season for an active sale of fertilizers had 

 passed by at the time when the 'provisions of the new law 

 became bindiug on the dealers in these articles (from 1st of 

 October, 1873), I decided to confine myself, until farther 

 instructed, to an investigation concerning the present condi- 

 tion of the resources of some of the more prominent sub- 

 stances which serve either directly as special fertilizers or 

 enter into the manufacture of our commercial manures. 



A short report of the results of my inquiries I ask leave to 

 present in a few subsequent pages. 



After stating in each case the chemical composition of the 

 material under discussion, I propose to mention, not only its 

 late wholesale market price, but to show also by a detailed 

 valuation of its various constituents, the amount which the 

 farmers in our section of the country are usually paying for 

 them in the retail trade. This course I have adopted mainly 

 for the purpose of showing it more conspicuously why the 

 farming community has a good right to ask for the introduction 

 of measures which will protect its interests by establishing the 

 trade in fertilizers on a basis which must ultimately tend to pro- 

 mote a desirable mutual confidence between manufiicturcrs and 

 farmers. The detailed valuation of the principal constituents 

 of the fertilizers is based on figures, which our manufacturers 

 concede to be lil)eral, namely, 16.25 cts. for each pound of 

 phosphoric acid soluble in water; 13.2 cts. for each pound of 



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