OFFICIAL INSPECTIONS 62. I39 



STATEMENT BY THE EXECUTIVE OF THE LAW. 

 A. M. G. SouLE, Chief Bureau of Inspections. 



Acting upon the instructions of the statute, collections of 

 samples of fertilizers were made by this department in the 

 spring of 1914. Great care was exercised to have these samples 

 fairly represent the class of goods sold in the open market and 

 in each instance where the lot was of any amount, the sample 

 was taken from ten bags of the fertilizer and thoroughly mixed. 



Most of the fertilizer manufacturers have shown a willing- 

 ness to comply with the law and protect the dealers handling 

 their products in this state by the necessary registration ; their 

 attitude in general has been very fair and businesslike and there 

 have been but few exceptions. 



The inspectors found during the season, on their rounds 

 taking samples, eighteen brands not protected by registration. 

 Hearings were then arranged with the dealers with whom these 

 goods were found and explanation requested. As a result of 

 these hearings, it was found in some cases that the goods had 

 been shipped direct from the manufacturer to the consumer 

 and — as the law was interpreted — did not require registration; 

 in other instances it proved to be an oversight on the part of 

 the manufacturers, evidently entirely unintentional. 



It will be seen from the tabulations that most of the samples 

 collected by the inspectors and analyzed at the Experiment 

 Station have been found to be true to guaranty. Whenever 

 there have been exceptions, upon receiving a report of the 

 analysis a hearing has been arranged and the parties were not 

 excused until a satisfactory explanation as to the deficiency 

 was given. 



During the past season it has been brought to the attention of 

 the department that the New Mineral Fertilizer Company, Avho 

 have a plant at Rumford, Maine, have been selling goods evi- 

 dently contrary to the law, no registration having been issued 

 to them from this ofltice. In order to ascertain the volume of 

 business and the amount of the product shipped from Rumford 

 station from January ist, 1914, to May 9th, 1914, the matter 

 was carefully taken up by one of our deputies and the result 

 of his investigation showed that 224 tons had been shipped out 



