2 maine agricultural experiment station, i9io. 



Chief Requirements of the Law. 



The law applies to "any material used for fertilizing purposes, 

 the price of which exceeds ten dollars a ton." For many years 

 the sale of materials other than mixed goods was so small that 

 no notice was taken of it. As time went on, however, with the 

 propagation of the ideas of home mixing, the demand for chem- 

 icals increased. For the last few years the most common chem- 

 icals such as acid phosphate, ground bone, nitrate of soda and 

 the various potash salts are regularly licensed by the companies 

 handling them. In the case chiefly of companies manufactur- 

 ing in the State it happens that other fertilizing constituents are 

 sold in small amounts and primarily for experimental purposes. 

 While the law is explicit there will until further notice, be no 

 prosecutions made by the Directors of the Maine Agricultural 

 Experiment Station for the sale without license of small amounts 

 of these more unusual fertilizing constituents, provided the 

 company can show that these goods were sold in good faith 

 for experimental purposes. As a part of the indication that 

 the goods were thus sold it should be explained to the customer 

 exactly under what conditions the goods are sold; that they 

 are unlicensed ; that they have not been or are not likely to be 

 analyzed by the Director of the Maine Experiment Station and 

 that the Director holds himself in no way responsible for the 

 quality of these unlicensed goods sold for experimental pur- 

 poses. Their sale is allowed because the Director does not 

 regard it as the purposes of the law to either hamper ordinary 

 business or hinder experiments on the part of the farmer. 

 Whenever any goods thus offered experimentally come to be 

 sold in considerable amount they must be licensed the same as 

 other fertilizing materials. 



The Brand. Each package shall bear, conspicuously printed, 

 the following statements : 



The number of net pounds contained in each package. 



The name or trade mark under which it is sold. 



The name of the manufacturer or shipper. 



The place of manufacture. 



The place of business of manufacturer or shipper. 



The percentage of nitrogen or its equivalent in ammonia. 



The percentage of potash soluble in water. 



