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 Andrew L. Felker, Commissioner of Agricul- 

 ture. Mr. C. A. Lyon, Fertilizer Control Supervisor, and Mr. George Laramie, 

 Inspector, collected samples of 63 brands of fertilizer and fertilizer materials 

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

 the year ending June, 1946. The general character of the brands sampled is shown 

 by the following classification: 



Complete fertilizer 46 



Phosphoric acid and potash 3 



Superphosphate 6 



Nitrate of soda 1 



Ammonium nitrate (Nitraprills) 1 



Muriate of potash 1 



Natural manures 5 



THE FERTILIZER LAW 



The purchaser of a fertilizer should familiarize himself with the full 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 govern- 

 ing these matters is as 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 percsntag^ 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 sals 

 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 state official charged with the enforcement of the fertilizer law is the 

 Commissioner or Agriculture. Copies of the full text of the law may be obtained 

 from his office in Concord. All inquiries concerning the law and all matters rela- 

 tive to the registration of brands should be addressed to his office. 



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 fertilizer was not under state regulation. 

 The value of a fertilizer depends mainly upon its content of available plant food, 

 particularly nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash. The presence of these con- 

 stituents can be determined only by a chemical analysis. To insure that they are 

 being furnished by all manufacturers in the guaranteed amounts, it is considered 



