Russell FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING OCTOBER 31, 1884. COLUMBIA, S. C. REPORT. OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE, COLUMBIA, S. C., November 1, 1884. To Governor HUGH S. THOMPSON, Chairman of the Board of Agriculture. SIR: I have the honor to submit the Fifth Annual Report of the Department of Agriculture, embracing the reports of the Commissioner, the Chemist, the Special Assistant and the Superintendent of Fisheries. There has been no change in the organization of the Department since the last Annual Report. We have collected from manufacturers, dealers and agents of commercial fertilizers in this State, for the year ending November 1st, 1884, $25,262.16. This sum represents the entire amount paid for the privilege of selling these goods in South Carolina, and the amount derived from this tax is used exclusively for the use and benefit of the Department. The whole amount collected was paid into the State Treasury, as will appear from financial statements at close of this Report, and also from reports made to the Comptroller General. The laws regulating the sale of fertilizers in South Carolina are not perfect in every respect, but they afford ample protection to the consumer, and the Secretary of the National Fertilizer Association says that our laws are more satisfactory to dealers than those of any other State. The following were the regulations governing the sales of fertilizers in South Carolina for the season 1883-84: [Circular No. 13.] 1. All persons or companies engaged in the manufacture or sale of commercial manures are required to pay to the Commissioner of Agriculture twenty-five cents per ton on every ton of such commercial fertilizer sold or offered for sale in South Carolina. 2. Every bag, barrel or other package of such fertilizers or commercial manures shall have thereon a plainly printed label or stamp, which shall truly set forth the name, location and trade mark of the manufacturer; also the chemical composition of the contents of such package and the real percentage of any of the following ingredients asserted to |