GUANARE 



GUANO 



439 



Are also blanket factories and cotton-printing 

 works. Pop. 52,112. 



<. u an are, capital of the state of Zamora, in 

 \ .-nivin-l.-i, stands on a river of the same name, and 

 has a pop. of 10,390. 



l Hunches, the aborigines of the Canary 



(iianiii is a yellowish-white, amorphous sub- 

 stance, wliich derives its name from its being a 

 .>M-iit in-lit, of guano; but it also forms the 

 chief constituent of the excrement of spiders, has 

 been found attached to the scales of fishes the 

 bleak, for example and seems to be a normal 

 constituent of the mammalian liver and pancreas. 

 With regard to its occurrence in guano, as it 

 lias not been found in the recent excrement of sea- 

 l>inls, there is every reason to believe that it is 

 formed by slow oxidation ( from atmospheric action ) 

 uf tin- uric acid, much as uric acid can be made to 

 yield urea and oxalic acid. And in the pancreas 

 and liver it probably represents one of those tran- 

 sitory stages of disintegrated nitrogenous tissue 

 which are finally excreted by the kidneys in the 

 more highly oxidised form of urea. Guanin is a 

 diocid base, but also forms salts with metals, and 

 combines with salts. When heated with hydro- 

 chloric acid and potassium chlorate, it is oxidised 

 to carbon dioxide, guanidin, and parabanic acid. 



Guano (derived from the Peruvian word huano, 

 'dung') is the excrementitious deposit of certain 

 sea-fowl, which was found in immense quantities 

 on certain coasts and islands where the climate is dry 

 and free from rain. Although the use of guano as 

 a^ manure is comparatively recent in Britain and in 

 Kurope, its value in agriculture was well known 

 to the Peruvians long before the coming of the 

 Spaniards. Alexander von Humboldt first brought 

 specimens of guano to Europe in 1804, and sent 

 them to Fourcroy, Vauquelin, and Klaproth, the 

 best analytical chemists of the day. 



The commercial value of guano depends almost 

 entirely upon the amount of decomposition to which 



it hiiH been subjected by the action of the atmo- 

 sphere, the value consisting OH it does essentially of 

 nitrogenous and photphfttk ompondfc the former 

 being chiefly ammonia wilts derived from the <li- 

 composition of the uric acid and urates which exist 

 in the fresh excrement. The atnmoniocal portion 

 of these deposits, and some of the phosphates, are 

 tolerably soluble in water, and are readily washed 

 away by rain. There are three classes of guanos : 

 ( 1 ) those which have suffered little by atmo- 

 spheric action, and which retain nearly the whole 

 of their original constituents, such as the Angamos 

 and Peruvian guanos; (2) those which have lost 

 a considerable portion of their soluble constituents, 

 but remain rich in their less soluble constituent* 

 the phosphates of lime and magnesia, such as the 

 Ichaboe, Bolivian, and Chilian guanos; (3) those 

 which have lost nearly all their ammonia, and con- 

 tain but little more than the earthy phosphates of 

 the animal deposit many being further largely 

 contaminated with sand. In the last class must be 



E laced the various African guanos (excepting that 

 orn Ichaboe), West Indian guano, Kuria Muria 

 (inlands off the coast of Arabia) guano, Sombrero 

 guano, Patagonian guano, Shark's Bay guano ( from 

 Australia), &c. 



Most of the so-called Peruvian guano has been 

 obtained from the Chincha Islands off the coast of 

 Peru. The following table represents the mean of 

 78 samples of Peruvian guanos : 



Moisture 13*67 



Organic matter and salts of ammonia 62-05 



Earthy phosphates 2278 



Alkaline salts containing 3'34 phosphoric acid, ) a QJ 



and equal to tf '69 soluble phosphate of lime.. . . ) 

 Sand, &c 1'83 



100-00 



Ammonia, per cent 16'52 



The following table gives the mean of several 

 analyses of the inferior kinds of guano, the first 

 four belonging to the second class and the remain- 

 ing three to the third class : 



Ichaboe. 



Earlier cargoe*. Later cargoes. 



Moisture 27-3 20'0 20-4 



Organic matters and salts of ammonia.. 34-3 24-4 18*6 



Earthy phosphates 30'3 20-4 31 '0 



Alkaline salts 6-0 6'2 7'3 



Carbonate of lime 



Sand, ic 31 29-0 227 



Ichaboe. Chilian. Bolivian. Patagonian. Kuria Muria. Snldanha Bay. 



Ammonia, per cent. 



100-0 

 6-0 



100-0 

 6-47 



10-1 

 21-6 

 51-5 

 14-1 



27 



100-0 

 4-5 



25-0 



18-3 



44-0 



21 



10-6 



1000 

 2'6 



18-1 

 12-4 

 427 

 4-2 

 41 

 18-6 



100-0 

 2-06 



20-0 



14-9 



56-4 



6-8 



2-9 



100-0 

 147 



The nitrogen in these analyses is calculated as 

 ammonia for the purpose of comparison. In reality 

 it exists in various forms of combination viz. as 

 nric acid, urea occasionally, urate, oxalate, hydro- 

 chlorate, phosphate, &c., of ammonia, other urates, 

 (Jiianin (q.v.), and undefined nitrogenous com- 

 pounds. Hence, as may be inferred, a complete 

 analysis of guano is a work of very considerable 

 laliour; but, as its agricultural value depends 

 mainly on the quantities of ammonia, soluble and 

 insoluble phosphates, and alkaline salts which it 

 contains, such analyses as those we have given are 

 sufficient for practical purposes, and they are easily 

 made. 



If the value of a manure l>e calculated, as is done 

 by Boussingault and other chemists, according to 

 the amount of nitro^-n which it contains, one ton 

 of good Peruvian guano is equal to 33$ tons of 

 farmyard manure, 20 tons of horse-dung, 38$ tons 

 of cow dung, 22* tons of pig-dung, or 14$ tons of 

 human excrement. 



Tin- introduction of guano into Britain as a 

 manure is comparatively recent. In 1840 only 20 

 casks of it wore knpnrked. In 1841 Lord Di-rby 



spoke strongly in its recommendation at a meeting 

 of the Agricultural Society ; and from that time it 

 came rapidly into use. In 1850 the import was 

 116,925 tons; in 1870, 280,311 tons; but in 1880 it 

 had fallen to 80,497 tons ; and from 1885 to 1888 

 it had still further decreased from 25,000 to 17,000 

 tons. Its value as a fertiliser has been so much 

 appreciated, and its use so extensive, that it is 

 gradually going out of the market owing to the 

 diminution of supplies, its place being taken by 

 various artificial substitutes (see MANURE). See 

 J. C. Nesbit's pamphlet, History and Properties of 

 Natural Guanos (new ed. 1860). 



FISH-GUANO. The organic fertiliser commonly 

 known as Fish-guano may be shortly defined as 

 fisli dried and ground to powder. The value of 

 fish as a fertiliser is universally admitted, and is 

 evidenced by the eagerness shown by fanners, who 

 reside in districts where fish can be easily and 

 cheaply obtained, in acquiring and applying it to 

 their land. Mussels, five-fingers or starfish, her- 

 rings, and particularly sprats may le instanced as 

 the fish most generally used in this way. The 

 inconvenience and expense arising from this mode 



