No. 3 (1921) MANUFACTURE OF FISH OIL AND GUANO 185 



78. It may here be noted that until required for removal it is 

 better to store guano in bulk than in bags; it is more easy to turn 

 it over when in bulk and thus ascertain or prevent any possible 

 fermentation b}'^ reason of moisture or undue heating by reason of 

 its contents of residual oil. Owing to the presence of oil there is 

 sometimes, especially in the tropics and when confined in a close 

 space, just a bare chance of the mass heating; this is very slight 

 indeed in the case of guano from which most of the oil has been 

 expressed, but in the case of whole fish (" fish manure ") merely 

 dried on the beach and retaining much of the oil, this chance is 

 consideraoie, and, in one important case, a very large parcel of this 

 whole fish manure exported to Japan was very badly damaged by 

 scorching from this cause. But no case of heating has been known 

 in the case of guano, and the matter is merely mentioned by way 

 of caution. Another small reason for storing guano in bulk rather 

 than in bags is that rats cause great loss by damaginghags in order 

 to get at the contents. 



79. The analyses do not mention any insoluble contents such 

 as sand. 



In the United States of America such constituent should be 

 negligible as the fish are taken by elevators from the steamer to 

 the machines and are dried artificially and not by sun-drying on 

 the beach ; some insoluble matter may be derived from the con- 

 tents of the intestines. 



On the West Coast of Madras all guano is dried in the sun, 

 often on the sandy beach, and at the best, as at Tanur, on open 

 barbecues or platforms, practically on ground level ; the strong sea 

 breeze blows a quantity of fine dust over the stuff during its three 

 days' exposure, and some sand is also unavoidably mixed with the 

 guano in turning it over, removing, and storing it. This, however, 

 should never exceed 2 per cent. But, owing largely to the greed 

 of many middlemen who, on the one hand, beat down the prices 

 paid by them to the manufacturer and, on the other, desire to 

 increase their selling profits by weighting the guano, the percent- 

 age of sand has now become a notable constituent of much of the 

 guano sold and a formidable enemy to the industry; on the one 

 hand the manufacturers are tempted to add sand to balance the 

 low prices offered by the middlemen, giving as a reason that the 

 middleman will add it if they do not ; on the other, the middleman 

 wishes to increase his profits, and hopes to escape detection by 



