56 MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 



Potash. 

 Manufacturer' s samples. 



Number of samples above guarantee 106 



Number of samples below guarantee 17 



Average percentage of potash in 106 samples above 



guarantee 67% 



Average percentage of potash in 17 samples below 



guarantee 29% 



Average percentage of potash in all (123) samples 



above guarantee 52% 



Station samples. 



Number of samples above guarantee no 



Number of samples below guarantee 18 



Average percentage of potash in no samples above 



guarantee 50% 



Average percentage of potash in 18 samples below 



guarantee 28% 



Average percentage of potash in all (128) samples 



above guarantee 41 % 



FEEDING STUFF INSPECTION. 



The legislature of 1897 passed a law entitled "An Act to reg- 

 ulate the sale and analysis of Concentrated Commercial Feed- 

 ing Stuffs." In essence the law is identical with the law regu- 

 lating the sale of commercial fertilizers, and is the first attempt 

 to establish an adequate control over the sale of offals and other 

 by-products used as food for cattle, and other live stock. 



The full text of the law was printed in the report of this 

 Station for 1896 and in Bulletin 37. In addition to the law, 

 Bulletin 37 contained the following statements. 



With the increased use of the by-products sold as concen- 

 trated feeds for cattle, it has been found, by chemical analysis 

 and feeding tests, as well as by common experience, that there 

 are great differences in the feeding values of goods which out- 

 wardly closely resemble each other. As an illustration the 

 following case may be quoted: Some time ago the Station 

 purchased a quantity of cotton-seed meal from a Bangor dealer. 

 A few weeks later the firm offered at a somewhat reduced rate 



