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BULLETIN 379
SEPTEMBER, 1949
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
Department of Agricultural and Biological Chemistry
Inspection of Commercial
Fertilizers
Made for the
STATE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
H. A. DAVIS, S. H. ROSEMAN and T. 0. SMITH
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
DURHAM, N. H.
INSPECTION OF COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS
Made for the
State Department of Agriculture
The inspection of commercial fertilizers reported in this bulletin was made
under the direction of the Honorable Perley I. Fitts, Commissioner of Agricul-
ture. Mr. George H. Laramie, Fertilizer Control Supervisor, and Mr. Vincent
P. Peterson, Inspector, collected samples of 91 brands of mixed fertilizer and fer-
tilizer materials which were offered for sale by dealers or had been delivered to
consumers during the year ending June, 1949. The general character of the
brands sampled is shown by the following classification :
Complete fertilizer 57
Phosphoric acid and potash 9
Superphosphate 8
Nitrate of soda 1
Ammonium nitrate 1
Muriate of potash 3
Ground bone 4
Milorganite 1
Natural manures 6
Urea 1
THE FERTILIZER LAW
The purchaser of fertilizer should familiarize himself with the full text of
the fertilizer law. He should not accept from the dealer any bag of fertilizer
which is not tagged and guaranteed in compliance with the law. The law gov-
erning these matters follows:
"Every lot or parcel of commercial fertilizer or fertilizer material sold or
offered or exposed for sale within this state shall be accompanied by a plainly
printed statement, clearly and truly certifying the number of net pounds of
fertilizer in the package; the name, brand or trademark under which the fer-
tilizer is sold; the name and address of the manufacturer or importer; the
location of the factory; and a chemical analysis stating the minimum percentage
of nitrogen, of available prosphoric acid and of water-soluble potash expressed
in whole numbers.
"No fertilizer or fertilizer material containing the three essential fertilizing
elements, nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash may be sold or offered for sale
if the total minimum plant food nutrients contained therein is less than four-
teen per cent by weight, provided however that natural animal and bird manures
shall be excepted from the provisions of this section."
Copies of the full text of the law may be obtained from the Fertilizer Con-
trol Supervisor, State House, Concord, N. H. Inquiries concerning the law and
all matters relative to the registration of brands should be addressed to his
office.
The chief purpose of the official inspection required by the fertilizer law
is to protect the consumer against the misbranded products which doubtless
would soon appear on the market if the sale of fertilizer was not under state
regulation. The value of a fertilizer depends mainly upon its content of avail-
able plant food, particularly nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash. The presence
of these constituents can be determined only by a chemical analysis. To insure
that they are being furnished by manufacturers in the guaranteed amounts, it
is considered necessary that each brand of fertilizer offered for sale be officially
inspected and analyzed each year. When failure to meet the guarantee is
proved by chemical analysis, the prosecution or seizure provisions of the law
may be invoked. The purchaser's refusal to buy a fertilizer which does not
conform to the law will not only assist in the enforcement of the law but will
at the same time insure him the protection of the law. If the buyer fails to
assure himself that the legal requirements have been met, he accepts the fer-
tilizer at his own risk.
USE OF COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS
It is not within the scope of this bulletin to make recommendations regard-
ing the use of commercial fertilizers. The Department of Agronomy and the
Department of Agricultural and Biological Chemistry of the University of New
Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station test soils and conduct experimental
work with various fertilizer materials on hay and crop land. The Department
of Horticulture investigates fertilizer treatments for fruits and vegetables.
Much of this work has been published, and is available for free distribution to
residents of New Hampshire. Address your request to Mail Service, University
of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire.
Fertilizer Experiments with Sweet Clover. 12 pp.
Fertilizer Experiments with Hay Lands in the Connecticut Val-
ley. 15 pp.
Fertilizer Needs of Alfalfa on New Hampshire Soils. 12 pp.
Effect of Soil Moisture and Fertilizer Placement on Vitality of
the Potato Seed Piece. 11 pp.
Sta. Cir. 61 Fertility Needs of Dairy Farm Crops in the Connecticut Val-
ley. 12 pp.
Fertilizers for Sweet Corn. 8 pp.
The Response of Clover and Total Forage to Top-Dressing Fer-
tilizers. 12 pp.
Experiments with Grass Hay. 24 pp.
Pasture Top-Dressing in New Hampshire. 24 pp.
Experiment with Potatoes. 38 pp.
Purchasing Fertilizers in New Hampshire. 31 pp.
Asparagus Culture. 4 pp.
Grape Growing in New Hampshire. 11 pp.
Purchasing Lime and Fertilizer. 12 pp.
Cabbage. 4 pp.
Tomatoes for Good Health. 8 pp.
Root Crops. 20 pp.
The Home Vegetable Garden. 20 pp.
Culture of Low-Bush Blueberries. 16 pp.
Strawberry Culture. 4 pp.
Forage Production and Grain Saving. 8 pp.
Cane Fruit Culture. 8 pp.
Potato Growing in New Hampshire. 32 pp.
Home Fruit Growing in New Hampshire. 16 pp.
Sta.
Cir.
47
Sta.
Cir.
50
Sta.
Cir.
58
Sta.
Cir.
59
Sta.
Cir.
63
Sta.
Cir.
74
Sta.
Bull.
306
Sta.
Bull.
320
Sta.
Bull.
324
Sta.
Bull.
362
Ext.
Cir.
99
Ext.
Cir.
173
Ext.
Cir.
210
Ext.
Cir.
212
Ext.
Cir.
260
Ext.
Cir.
266
Ext.
Cir.
273
Ext.
Cir.
275
Ext.
Cir.
279
Ext.
Cir.
287
Ext.
Cir.
289
Ext.
Bull.
45
Ext.
Bull.
65
While the word fertilizer does not appear in all the above titles, no publica-
tion is included which does not discuss the use of fertilizer.
CONFORMITY TO GUARANTEE
The chemical analyses were made by the methods of the Association of
Official Agricultural Chemists.
Number of brands analyzed 91
Equalling or exceeding all guarantees 47
Deficient in nitrogen only 14
Deficient in available phosphoric acid only 9
Deficient in potash only 10
Deficient in nitrogen and phosphoric acid 5
Deficient in nitrogen and potash 5
Deficient in phosphoric acid and potash 1
Six brands were guaranteed to contain magnesium oxide. None failed to meet
the guarantee. In general, the overrun in plant food guarantees exceeds the
deficiencies when all brands of a manufacturer are included.
Fertilizers are largely mixtures of highly purified chemicals. Segregation
of these materials in the bag may be expected. To obtain a truly representative
sample of a fertilizer mixture requires careful work. The chemist can accurately
determine the nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash content of the sample sent
to the laboratory. If this sample does not correctly represent the larger lot,
the analytical work is of no use. The obligation of the fertilizer control pro-
gram is to see that the manufacturer is supplying the guaranteed amount of
plant food to the consumer. For this reason the sample must be drawn and
analyzed very carefully so that injustice will not be done to either the con-
sumer or manufacturer.
In the tabulation of the analyses in the following pages deficiencies of one-
half per cent or more are shown in red type. The names of the manufacturers
are arranged alphabetically. The brand names are listed alphabetically, or
numerically by formula, under the manufacturer.
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