THE OCEAN AS THE RESERVOIR OP HEALTII 39 



Farther south, again, we come to the great re- 

 publics of Peru and Chili, which, in spite of their 

 national tendencies towards revolution and war with 

 one another, are certainly far in advance of their 

 northern confreres. Here, however, though from the 

 point of view of health their situation leaves nothing 

 to be desired, it must be remembered that they are 

 practically confined to exploiting the mineral wealth 

 of their narrow strips of territory along the feet of 

 the mighty Andes, the backbone of America. By an 

 irony of fate than which I can conceive nothing more 

 romantic, these two practically non-agricultural re- 

 publics furnish the principal means of agriculture to 

 the Old World in the shape of guano from the bird- 

 haunted rocks of the Chincha Islands, and the enormous 

 deposits of nitrate of soda, discovered by science to 

 contain the prime necessities of plant life, and for this 

 purpose eagerly purchased in Europe. Kich as the 

 two republics are in the more precious minerals, it is 

 quite safe to say that but for their deposits of these 

 far humbler materials for agriculture, they would long 

 ago have ceased to be considered at all as worthy of 

 a place among the nations of the world. Now, how- 

 ever, their other mineral resources, of which the rocky 

 fastnesses of these republics hold great store, are being 

 exploited to their great profit. 



South of these territories again, we come to a land 

 which is practically barren, and hardly worthy of being 

 called habitable. It is very sparsely populated, and, 

 scourged as it is by the wild western gales, against 

 which it rears its tremendous barrier of mountains, 

 it offers no inducements to the colonizing powers, 

 although, doubtless, if, owing to mineral discoveries, 



