Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1923-03-03
Law COURTS OPINION IN 4
fertilizer CASE INTERESTS
FARMERS; GRANTS new TRIAL

A most important decision to farm
ers and fertilizer companies has been
handed down by the Law Court, in
me case OF l.. L. Rogers VS.. w. B.
Nenoall ct ais. the opinion being
Wrltten by Justice Spear and q new
ira! granted. 1t will be recalled that
IN the summer and fall Of 1919 many
farmers In Aroostook, Waldo and
other counties complained that their
neios were not up to normal and
that IN many instances they Were
experiencing a very severe loss, in
some cases an almost total crop fail
ure. This difficulty was attributed to
the claimed presence of borax in the
iertllizer and several bulletins were
issued from the Experiment Station
and the Agricultural Department
with reference to the matter. In
November, 1919. the Agricultural De-
partment made ruling that boron
IN any form will be considered o
deleterious constituent when contain
ed in commercial fertilizer" AS n
result of this ruling the fertilizer
companies refused to ship any ferti-
lizer into Maine. claiming that it
was impossible to manufacture fer
tilizer that would be free from boron.
The failure to ship fertilizer into the
state brought about such severe
situation that on January 81. 1920.
conference of the farmers was held
at Augusta with Governor Carl +.
Milliken with view to calling a
special session OF the Legislature to
modify the fertilizer laws The re-
suit of the conference was a vote
of the farmers advising the Commits
sioner of Agriculture to abrogate the
ruling above quoted
Trouble for 1920
1919 was a very dry year. Some
of the fertilizer companies commended
that the injuries complained of were
due to the unusual dryness, and
faulty planting. rather than to the
presence of boraX in the fertilizer.
In 1920 there was no claim that fer
tiliZer contained boron to sufficient
quantities to be delterious. But in
that year. as in 1919 beginning with
the middle of June both the Maine
Agricultural Experiment Station and
the State Department of Agricul-
ture began receiving reports of slow
termination, skips and imperfect
stands. Many farmers attributed the
trouble again to boraX. In most
instances. however, the analyses
showed that the fertilizer contained
no bOraX SO severe in some cases
was the loss that in 1920 one grower
complained that she got less than
300 bushels on 20 acres. In 1920 DIR.
Charles d. Woods, Director OF the
Maine Agricultural Experiment Sta
ton. attributed the trouble TO poor
weakened seed: heated seed: dry
weather at and following planting;
hot burning sun, scalding he Pianted
seed pieces: heavy application and
l.. Il M
Fertilizer" These were the identical
causes to which some of the fertilizer
manufacturers had attributed the
trouble in 1919. DR.. Wood. how
ever, claimed that the condition was
entirely dissimilar to that of 1919.
Referring to his investigation of the
1920 fields. he said in statement
published September. 1920:
"No evidence of INJURY similar to
the boraX trouble of 1919 was found.
In 1919 hundreds of growers mad
a trouble that was alike and general
and could be directly traced to the
fertilizer used. In 1920. although
fertilizer seemed to be involved in
some instances. there We're numerous
other causes and each case had 10 be
considered by itself"
Many Law Gases Result
Numerous suits have been
brought by farmers claiming dam
ages for crop failure during the sea-
son Of 1919 due to the alleged pres
encc of boraX in the fertilizer. and
a great many are now pending. rho
suit of Rogers VS.. Kendall is, how
ever, the first case to go TO the Law
Court. AS it involves this whole
question, and raises some questions
entirely novel it is a case of great
Importance both to the farmers and
to the fertilizer manufacturers.
The case was tried at the Septem-