FERTILIZER PRACTICE 551 



Moreover, the legislators in such states have not been so 

 strongly confronted with fertilizer lobbying, and have 

 consequently been free to enact stricter laws than were 

 possible where fertilizers are such an important com- 

 mercial commodity. 



Usually certain provisions are common to all fertilizer 

 laws. In general, all fertilizers selling for a certain price 

 or over (usually $5 a ton) must pay a state license fee and 

 print the following'data on the bag or an authorized tag : — 



1. Number of net pounds of fertilizer to a package. 



2. Name, brand, or trade-mark. 



3. Name and address of manufacturer. 



4. Chemical composition or guarantee. 



The composition of a commercial fertilizer is ordinarily 

 expressed simply; for example, as a 3-6-10, meaning 3 

 per cent of nitrogen, 6 per cent of phosphoric acid, and 

 10 per cent of potash. This, however, is too brief for a 

 guaranteed analysis on goods exposed for sale, as it gives 

 no idea whatsoever regarding the solubilfty of the ma- 

 terials. As might be expected, there is a wide range in 

 the character of the guarantee required by the various 

 states. For example, some states insist on the statement 

 of the percentage of both nitrogen and ammonia, while 

 others insist only on the percentage of nitrogen. Some 

 require the soluble, the reverted, and the total phosphoric 

 acid, while others require only the soluble and the re- 

 verted. As to potash, in some cases the soluble must be 

 stated, while in other cases the total must be given. In 

 general, a guarantee should show not only the amount 

 of the various constituents, but also their form or avail- 

 ability. The guarantee required by North Dakota is 

 excellent in this respect : — 



