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61 BOARD OP AGRICULTURE. [Jau., 



tion. What makes guano so far superior to any fresh manure of 

 the kind is that the sole diet of these birds was fish, which are 

 rich in phosphoric acid and nitrogen, and also that all the moisture 

 was speedily taken out of the mass by the dry, hot winds continu- 

 ally passing over it. 



Our lands are continually suffering a loss in nitrogen and other 

 elements of plant food which through vai'ious channels finds its 

 way continually to the ocean and passes out of our reach. 



Through the agency of these birds, many million tons of these 

 same elements have been recovered from the ocean, and stored up 

 where of all places they would keep best for our use long "before 

 we felt the loss and desired its replacement. 



The Chincha islands have furnished more and better guano than 

 any other localities, but they are by no means the only sources of 

 Peruvian guano. There are t*he Maccabi, Huanape and Lobos isl- 

 ands, names familiar to purchasers, from which large quantities 

 have been shipped, as well as the province of Tarapaca. Nor is 

 guano all of the same origin. On some islands it was formed 

 largely from the excrement and carcases of other animals, seals, 

 sea-lions, and the like. The Lobos islands are the seal islands, ae 

 the name implies. 



The history of the use of guano and the trade in it, dates back at 

 least to the time of the Incas in the 12th century. At that time 

 the islands -were an important subject of legislation. Each had 

 its overseer or superintendent, and the guano was distributed 

 among the coast provinces for use as a fertilizer. 



The people found that on a soil described as remarkably sterile 

 naturally, a mixtiu'e of white sand and clay with little humus 

 and exposed to a burning sun, a moderate application of guano 

 gave abundant harvests of maize;. The old Peruvians had a 

 proverb to this effect: — 



"Guano can work miracles, 

 Tbo' it is not numbered with the saints." 



Stringent measui'es were taken to avoid waste and to prevent 

 any disturbance of the producers of this miracle-working stuff. 

 It was made a capital offense to kill the young birds or wantonly 

 frighten them, or even to land on the island during their breeding 

 season. It is said that since the guano trade with other countries 

 has sprung up these birds have largely disappeared, but now where 

 the deposits are no longer worked it is hoped that they will return 

 to their old homes. 



