
_ Rerort oF tHE DrrEcToR OF THE bas, J 
way: at present, the law, while permitting the sale of anything % : 


which may be placed upon the market as a fertilizer, trusting to 4 4 
the general intelligence of: the purchaser to protect him from 
what is worthless, it specially provides that in case leather or | 
other inert forms of nitrogen compounds are used as a constitu- 
ent of any fertilizer, such fact must be declared by the manu_ 
facturer using such material. - 
It will be observed that there is no restriction upon the sale of 
leather or other inert forms of nitrogenous matter, nor upon the 
price which may be demanded for the same, and it would appear — 
that without in any way attempting to limit the sale or control 
the prices of the other constituents used in the manufacture of 
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commercial fertilizers, it might be reasonably demanded that — 
those offering such products for sale in the State should be com- 
pelled to state the character and constituents of their several — 
products, since it is notoriously true that of the several nitrogen- 
ous compounds present in fertilizers the nitrogen in some is as 
fairly worth seventeen cents per pound as it is in another form: 
_ 
worth seven cents per pound, or in certain other forms scarcely ~ 
worth one cent per pound. 
What is true in nitrogen is somewhat true in the case of phos- 
phoric acid aud potash, but not to an equal degree; but there 
exists a widespread preference upon the part of the farmers for 
soluble and available phosphoric acid derived from bone rather 
than from South Carolina or other mineral phosphates, as is. 
evidenced by the very common practice of fertilizer manufac- 
turers to calculate the phosphoric acid in their product as equiva-- 
lent to so much bone-phosphate, often in cases where all of it is 
obtained from other phosphates than bone. 
The objection often, and perhaps always, made to the. sugges- 
tion that the source of the several constituents should be stated 
by the manufacturers of fertilizers, is that unscrupulous persons. 
would not hesitate to state that the best raw materials were used 
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in their products, and such objection is perhaps likely fora time 
to prove true, but there can be little doubt: that in the end the- 
honest manufacturers will find, as is ever the case, that estab-. 
lished reputation for integrity and fair-dealing is quite as valua- 
ble in their business as in any other, and besides it would provea. 
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