INVESTIGATIONS AT THE COLLEGE 61 



Massachusetts Legislature on May 26, 1873, * to become 

 operative October 1 (Acts of 1873, Chapter 312). It 

 required all fertilizers sold in the state to have a guar- 

 antee of composition attached, and provided a penalty 

 for failure to do this. The execution of the law was 

 placed under the supervision of the State Board of 

 Agriculture, and the chemist of the Board was made 

 state inspector of fertilizers. The fee was fifteen dollars 

 for each analysis made, and was to be paid by the man- 

 ufacturer to the state inspector to cover the cost of 

 the inspection. The inspector was required to report 

 any violation of the act to the secretary of the Board, 

 who was empowered to institute legal proceedings. 



Professor Goessmann, by virtue of his office, became 

 the inspector, and published his first report in the 

 twenty-first annual report of Agriculture of Massachu- 

 setts. Owing to the lateness of the season when the law 

 went into effect (October 1), the report was of neces- 

 sity limited in its scope. He reported the analysis and 

 discussed the value of Peruvian and fish guanos, 

 slaughter-house residues, superphosphates, sulphate of 

 ammonia, nitrate of soda, and German potash salts. 

 He advised the manufacturers to pay more attention 

 to their analytical statements, and particularly to im- 

 prove their methods of manufacture. In one of his 

 early reports is found the following statement: * These 

 identical articles cost the farmers . . . one-half more 

 than they ought to.' The inspection was transferred 



1 A preceding law enacted March 10, 1869 (Acts of 1869, Chapter 63), 

 required that all fertilizers be marked with the name of the manufacturer 

 and a statement of the analysis, and prescribed a fine for those violating 

 it. No official inspector was appointed nor were funds provided for its 

 execution. 



