Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1882-09-30
A CA IL ID.

Learning that a report is being circu-
lated, that opposed or endeavorcd to de-
feat fertilizing Bill offered in the House
of Delegates by Mai. w. III. L. Lewis my
colleague of 1879. In justice to myself l
desire to have published the following
amended bill, which amendments l pro-
posed and advocated were adopted with
out a dissenting voice upon its passage.
/ That all commercial fertilizers sold, offered
or exposed for sale shall be branded or accom-
panicd BY analysis attached 10 the same statlng
the percentage therein contained oil nitrogen or
It's equivalent in ammonia of potash in any form
soluble In distilled wafer of phosphoric acid sol
uble in o neutral solution OF citrate OF ammonia
at temperature of one hundred degrees Fahren-
heit aud the percentage OF !phosphoric acid not
thus soluble.
2. Every person selling, offering or exposing
for sale any commercial fertilizer without The
ANALYSIS req led 10y section one or witt an anal
ysis stating that said fertilizer contains Larger
percentage of any one or more of the constitI-
ents mentioned above than is contained therein
or for the sale of which all the provisions OF sec
ton one have not been compiled with, shall for
felt fifty dollars for the first offense and two
hundred dollars for each subsequent offepse.
The said penalty may be recovered by motion or
repeated motions against the parties 80 onend-
ing in the circuit court OF the county where euch
violations Of the law have taken place. One
half of such fines shall 90 10 the purchaser ana
the other half 10 the state.
& 1t shall be the duty OF the professor OF
chemistry of the West Virginia University, at
Morgantown, after having been sworn Tor the
purpose, TO analy re any specimens th't may ne
furnished him by any purchaser otsaid tertilz r,
and he shall report as soon as practicable to said
party the result of said analysis made by him,
free of charge or any compensation therefor.
T. Iu any suit Instituted by party who has
sold to citizen of this state any commercial
fertilizer to recover the price of same apd
question arising rs to whether the quality OF
iii. fertilizer be in accordance with the Contract
the certificate OF the professor OF chemistry shall
be regarded as PgIMA FAcIA evidence as TO what
is therein stated as 10 said analysis.
The amendments were rs follows:-
First. In original Bill penalty for first
violation was $4,000, changed to $4,000.
Second. Original Bill gave the privilege
of sending specimens of fertilizers to state
chemists, to any citizen Of the state,
changed to any purchaser Of fertilizer.
| claim that the amendments greatly inn
proved the Bill, for the following reasons:
First, 1t will be observed that the Bill at
tacks only the agent, person selling, Offer
inc or exposing for sale land not the mali
ufacturer), and the agent or person
selling might, and most naturally would
beinnocent of doing any wrong to par-
chasers, or of violating the law by the fer
tilizer not being up to analysis, rs branded
on sacks, for want of knowledge as to how
it was compounded, hence proposed $50
for first violation, but retained 5000 for
second offense. Second, Combining the
sending OF specimens to purchasers of
fertilizers, shuts out 4 class who might
feel no interest in fertilizers, except 10
forward the specimens with view only
of obtaining half OF the fire or forfeiture.
In the amendments named in above
bill, which were all of the amendments
Except one offered by Maj. Lewis making
the analysis made by the professor of chem
istry to be free of charge or compensa-
ton, } consist my opposition to the bill
which respectfully submit to the impair
tial consideration of my fellow citizens.
Any one desiring to make comparison
of original Bill with present one, will
find il in journal Of House Of Delegates
1879, House bill, No. 2l0, which would
have had published but for the space 1t
would have occupied.
JACOB 5. MELVIN.