138 MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. I913. 



RESULTS OF INSPECTION. 



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

 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 conditions have increased 

 the difificulty in obtaining samples of all the different brands for 

 analysis. A few brands were registered, samples of which 

 were not found by the inspectors. They are, therefore, not 

 included in the tables. 



The methods used last year in determining the quality of the 

 organic nitrogen entering into mixed goods were again used and 

 the results are reported in the tables. It is to be remembered 

 that these figures for inorganic nitrogen cannot be relied upon 

 with the same certainty as those for nitrogen in the forms of 

 ammonia (ammonium sulphate for the most part) and for 

 nitrogen in the form of nitrate. They are, however, of value 

 in estimating the quality of the organic constituents of the fer- 

 tilizer. They also have developed certain important facts to 

 which attention was called a year ago. 



Manufacturers are still in some instances using very different 

 sources of nitrogen in the same brand of fertilizer. It certainly 

 does not seem to be unreasonable to insist that a high priced 

 and higli 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 the best results 

 that a potato fertilizer contain about one-third of its nitrogen as 



