FERTILIZER INSPECTION. 



Chas. D. Woods, Director. 

 J. M. BartlETT, Chemist in charge of Fertilizer Analysis. 



The law regulating the sale of commercial fertilizers in this 

 State calls for two bulletins each year. The first of these con- 

 tains the analyses of the samples received from the manufacturer, 

 guaranteed to represent, within reasonable limits, the goods to 

 be placed upon the market later. The second bulletin contains 

 the analyses of the samples collected in the open market by a 

 representative of the Station. 



The analyses of the manufacturer's samples for this year were 

 published early in March. The present bulletin contains the 

 analyses of the Station samples and of such of the manufactur- 

 er's samples as were received after Bulletin 50 was issued. 



The Guaranteed Analysis. 



The law requires that there shall be affixed to each package 

 of fertilizer offered for sale in the State, "a plainly printed state- 

 ment clearly and truly, certifying the number of net pounds in the 

 package sold or offered for sale, the name or trade mark under 

 which the article is sold, the name of the manufacturer or 

 shipper, the place of manufacture, the place of business and a 

 chemical analysis stating the percentage of nitrogen, or its equiv- 

 alent in ammonia in available form, of potash soluble in water, 

 and of phosphoric acid in available form, soluble and reverted, as 

 well as the total phosphoric acid, and the law directs that there 

 shall be filed annually with the Director of the Maine Agricul- 

 tural Experiment Station a certified copy of the above statement. 

 Very soon after Bulletin 60, containing the analyses of the manu- 

 facturers' samples, was distributed a correspondent called our 

 attention to the fact that, in the case of one prominent brand, 

 there was considerable discrepancy between the guarantee pub- 

 lished by the Station and that printed on the package. The cor- 

 respondent also sent us printed matter in which a still different 



