OFFICIAL INSPECTIONS 74. 2/9 



by the Director of the Station at the request of the Commis- 

 sioner. There is a special law (Chapter 130, Public Laws of 

 1911) which provides for the analysis of samples of fertilizers 

 taken by any citizen. It requires the sample to be taken in 

 the presence of a witness from not less than 5 packages in a 

 manner prescribed by the Commissioner of Agriculture. The 

 sample shall be accompanied by an analysis fee of $10. If not 

 more than one sample of the same brand has been analyzed, or 

 if the analysis differs materially from the guaranty, the analysis 

 fee is returned to the sender. 



The description of the goods may or may not be sent to the 

 Commissioner as the sender chooses. It is not necessary, as so 

 many seem to think, that the name of the brand and its analy- 

 sis be sent with the sample. But this information must be 

 given either when the sample is sent or after the analysis is 

 reported to the sender if he wishes the refund. 



No samples should be taken without first getting complete 

 directions for sampling. These may be had from the Commis- 

 sioner of Agriculture, Augusta, or from the Station. 



Fertilizers for 191 6. 



For more than a generation New England agriculture has 

 been dependent upon the purchase of plant food in the form 

 of commercial fertilizers. It has been a matter of great con-- 

 cern to those officially interested in New England agriculture 

 that it has not been self-sustaining and that it has been neces- 

 sary to look outside of its borders for the needed extra plant 

 food. A most cursory examination of statistics indicates that 

 with the introduction of commercial plant food, New England 

 agriculture has steadily advanced, not only in the total yield 

 but in the net profit per acre. The commercial fertilizers used 

 before the early seventies carried little or no potash. In 1916 

 because of its shortage and prohibitive price, fertilizers will 

 again carry little or no potash. Many experiments have been 

 made and many treatises have been written showing the value of 

 potash in agriculture. The experimental data showing how 

 crops can be grown without potash are few. 



Recognizing the dearth of information and the prime im- 

 portance of the subject, the directors of the New England, 

 New Jersey and New York Experiment Stations held a special 



