OF'FICIAL INSPECTIONS 42. I3I 



That is, such a fertilizer would carry only i per cent of- organic 

 nitrogen and half of that is inactive indicating low grade ma- 

 terial. 



Results oe Inspection. 



A few years ago practically all of the fertilizer used in thib 

 State was distributed- from a few large warehouses located at 

 tide water. It was then comparatively an easy matter to sample 

 practically all of the different brands of fertilizers registered 

 for sale in the State and obtain good representative samples 

 from large lots by visiting these large warehouses. With the 

 rapid increase in the use of commercial fertilizers there has 

 come to the manufacturer a realization of the importance of 

 the Maine trade. Within the last few years many new com- 

 panies have come into the State and there is great competition 

 among the agents of these companies. With this growth in 

 competition there has been an increase in the practice of selling 

 goods in small lots directly to the farmers. At present a 

 large number of the brands offered for sale are not stored in 

 the State for any length of time, but are shipped in car lots 

 and used within a few days after their arrival. These condi- 

 tions have increased the dicffiiilty of obtaining samples of all 

 the different brands for analysis. This explains why several 

 blank spaces occur in the table. The table contains 'not only 

 the results of analyses, but a complete list of the various brands 

 registered for 1912. 



The results obtained in determining the quality of the organic 

 nitrogen this year, while they may only approximate the agri- 

 cultural value, are valuable in bringing to light certain facts. 

 Only relatively high grade nitrogenous materials can be used in 

 the manufacture of high grade goods. In some instances manu- 

 facturers do not use the same grade of nitrogenous material in 

 different lots of the same brand of fertilizer. As great differ- 

 ences were found between different lots of the same brand as 

 between dieffrent brands. 



It certainly does not seem to be unreasonable to insist that a 

 high priced and high grade brand of fertilizer be as uniform in 

 the forms of nitrogen that it carries as in its total nitrogen. 

 For instance, it is believed to be necessary in this climate for 

 best results that a potato fertilizer contain about one-third of 



