136 MAINIi; AGRICUIvTURAI, EXPliRIMENT STATION. lOlt. 



Written Guarante:e;s.' 



Section 17 of Chapter 119 of the Pubhc Laws of 1911, being 

 the inspection laws of this State, reads as follows : "No person 

 shall be prosecuted under the provisions of this act when he 

 can establish proof of purchase and a guaranty signed by the 

 person residing in the United States, from whom the purchase 

 was made, to the effect that the article in question is not adul- 

 terated or misbranded within the meaning of this act." 



For several years the importance of obtaining a written guar- 

 anty when goods coming under the inspection laws of this State 

 are purchased has been emphasized by the Director of the Ex- 

 periment Station in the regular publications of the Station, 

 special circulars and publications and personal letters to dealers 

 with whom there has been correspndence. 



It is surprising to find how few of the dealers in this State are 

 attempting to comply with this important advice. A written 

 guaranty obtained under the conditions specified in the above 

 section protects the dealer in the sale of unopened packages of 

 materials coming under the inspection laws if those materials are 

 afterwards found to be either adulterated or misbranded. A 

 general guaranty filed under the National Food Law and indi- 

 cated on the label of the goods by a serial number is equivalent 

 to such a guaranty. Such a guaranty not only protects the 

 retailer in case his goods are found not to be in accord with the 

 requirements of the inspection laws, but it shows to the people 

 from whom he purchases his supplies that he is interested in the 

 quality of his goods, and this acts as an incentive for them to 

 supply him with a better class of goods than otherwise might 

 be delivered. 



The importance of obtaining such a guaranty is here again 

 emphasized. Changes in the administration of the National 

 Food and Drugs Act make it quite probable that the law w^ill be 

 more strictly enforced in some particulars in the future than 

 it has been in the j)ast. As the knowledge of the importance 

 of pure and sanitary food beco'mes more widely known, and the 

 results of investigations show that some practices which have 

 been overlooked in the past are harmful, the definitions are 

 being more closely drawn on adulterations and misbrandings, 

 and it is quite likely that there will be prosecutions in the future 

 for oft'ences which in the past would have been overlooked, or 

 at least passed over with a warning. 



