210 THE IMPORTANCE OF BIRD LIFE 



nothing to show for it. Then she did what she 

 should have done half a century before. As fast 

 as the leases to the private corporations ran out, 

 the islands were taken over by the Government 

 and conservation commenced. 



The welfare of the guano islands was placed in 

 the hands of the Compania Administradora del 

 Guano, a semi-official corporation controlled by 

 the Peruvian Government. The duty of this com- 

 pany was to put the extraction of guano upon a 

 purely economical business basis. When an 

 island was returned from private lease, its admin- 

 istration was at once undertaken by the new com- 

 pany, and for the first time in the history of Peru 

 the production of guano was handled from a scien- 

 tific point of view. 



The initial move of the Compania Administra- 

 dora del Guano was to curtail the promiscuous ex- 

 port of the product. Thereafter the fertilizer was 

 to be employed only within the. national boundaries 

 of the country until all internal needs had been 

 met. As the old beds had been exhausted, it was 

 realized that the hope of a future guano industry 

 lay in an increase of fresh production. This, of 

 course, could be effected only by an enlargement 

 in the size and number of rookeries. 



With these objects in view, each island was 

 erected into a bird sanctuary, closed to all visitors 

 whose presence might disturb the birds. Watch- 

 men were detailed to guard the reservations from 



