Delaware General Assembly

CHAPTER 438.

OF THE STATE CHEMIST.

AN ACT to amend the act entitled "An act to amend the act entitled 'An act providing for the appointment of a State Chemist,'" passed at Dover, April 8, 1881.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met:

SECTION I. That the person occupying the chair of Professor of Chemistry in Delaware College at Newark, Delaware be and he is hereby declared ex officio State- Chemist.

SECTION 2. That it shall be the duty of the State Chemist annually to analyze samples of all fertilizers which may be offered for sale within this state, and for this purpose he is authorized and directed to take from not less than five original packages of said fertilizers, which may be in the possession of any manufacturer, dealer, or persons using the same, two samples not exceeding one pound in weight, one sample to be retained by the State Chemist, and the other sample to be sent by the State Chemist, in a sealed bottle or can, to the Secretary of State, who shall keep the same; and in case any manufacturer should request another analysis, then the sample retained by the Secretary of State, at the request of any manufacturer, shall be sent to any chemist which the Secretary of State, State Chemist and manufacturer shall agree upon.

SECTION 3. That every bag, barrel or other package of commercial fertilizer manufactured or sold in this state shall have plainly stamped thereon the number of net pounds of fertilizer in the package, the name, brand or trade mark under which the fertilizer is sold, the name and address of the manufacturer, the place of manufacture, and the chemical analysis, stating the percentage of ammonia, .of potash soluble in water, of available phosphoric acid, and of insoluble phosphoric acid; and any manufacturer or dealer who shall misrepresent the proportions of ammonia, phosphoric acid and potash, or either of them, contained in such fertilizer, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof on indictment shall be fined two hundred dollars for the first offense and three hundred dollars for each subsequent contents offense.

SECTION 4. That every manufacturer or importer of commercial fertilizers, before offering the same for sale in this state, shall file with the State Chemist a paper giving the names of his principal agents and also the name and guaranteed analysis of the fertilizer or fertilizers offered for sale by him, and any manufacturer or importer who shall refuse to give the information herein required shall forfeit one hundred dollars for the first offense and one hundred and fifty dollars for each subsequent offense.

SECTION 5. That every manufacturer, importer, agent or seller of any commercial fertilizer shall pay annually to the State Chemist an analysis fee of thirty dollars for each and every brand offered for sale; within this state, the said fee to be payable upon receipt of the certificate or certificates of analysis required by this act. Provided, that whenever the manufacturer or importer shall have paid the fee herein required for any persons acting as agents or sellers for such manufacturer or importer such agents or sellers shall not be required to pay the fee named in this section.

SECTION 6. Be it further enacted, That any person or persons purchasing any fertilizers from any manufacturer or venders in this state for their own use, and who, themselves, the purchasers, are citizens of the State, may, if they desire, submit fair samples of fertilizers to the State Chemist, but in order to protect the manufacturers or venders from the submission for analysis of spurious samples, the person or persons selecting the same shall do so in the presence of one or more disinterested persons, which samples shall be taken from one or more packages, and bottled, corked and sealed in presence of said witnesses, and this sample package or bottle placed in the hands of a disinterested person, who is to forward the same at the expense of the purchaser to the State Chemist when the purchaser so desires, and upon the receipt by him of any such sample package the State Chemist is hereby authorized to demand and receive for such analysis five dollars and return to such purchaser or purchasers a certificate or certificates of analysis; the certificate shall in all cases set forth the components of said fertilizers with their respective quantities, date of analysis and the name or names of persons submitting the samples, and be signed by the State Chemist, who is hereby required to keep an accurate account of the same, and the said certificates, or record, when verified by the affidavit of the State, Chemist, shall be competent evidence in any court of law or equity in this state.

SECTION 7. Justices of the Peace shall have authority to bind persons offending against this act in sufficient surety for appearance at court in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 97 of the Revised Statutes of this state.

SECTION 8. Any person or persons purchasing any fertilizer or fertilizing materials from any manufacturer or vender who shall, upon analysis by the State Chemist, discover that he has been defrauded by reason of adulterations or deficiencies of constituent elements either of quality or quantity in the fertilizer or fertilizing materials so purchased, shall recover in any action he may institute, upon proof of the fact, twice the amount paid to or demanded by the manufacturer or vender of the same; but in all cases where the vender is an agent of a manufacturer, or, sub-agent of such agent, the judgment of the court shall be rendered against the manufacturer, unless upon trial the said agents are found to be guilty of the frauds perpetrated. And in case the purchase is made of a manufacturer or of an agent of any, person or persons residing out of the limits of the State of Delaware, manufacturing, compounding, preparing and furnishing for sale any such commercial manures or artificially manufactured fertilizers, the purchaser thereof may at his option proceed by attachment, as is now provided by law in cases of nonresident and absconding debtors, against any property, rights or credits of any person or persons selling, manufacturing, compounding or furnishing said manures or fertilizers when such property rights and credits can be found within the limits of this state.

SECTION 9. The term "commercial fertilizer," as used in this act, shall be taken to mean any and every substance imported, manufactured, prepared or sold for fertilizing or manurial purposes, except barn-yard manure, marl, lime, ashes, and plaster, and chemicals used in compounding artificial fertilizers.

SECTION 10. The State ,Chemist shall, during the months of April and August, publish in two newspapers in each county of this state, the results of all analyses made by him other than those made under the provisions of Section 6 of this act. Said published analyses shall set forth the percentage of ammonia, potash soluble in water, of available and insoluble phosphoric acid, with a statement of the commercial value of each ingredient, which valuation shall be uniform and not above the real commercial value of such ingredients. He shall also make a report of the operations of his office to the Governor of the state annually, giving the number of analyses made and the amount of proceeds of office; said report to be presented to the General Assembly at each session thereof, the same as- the auditor's and State Treasurer's are made.

SECTION 11. All acts and parts of, acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.

SECTION 12. This act shall take effect immediately.

SECTION 13. That in case the State Chemist willfully makes any false or untrue analysis he shall be deemed guilty of a common nuisance, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined a sum net exceeding $100, and shall stand committed to the custody of the Sheriff until said fine is paid.

Passed at Dover, April 16, 1885.