186 



Tile JVaiural History of Guano. 



Vol. X. 



The Natural History of Guano. 



The trade in guano, which has been lately 

 opened to the coast of Africa, has not only 

 raised hij^h hopes as to its beneficial effects 

 in improvinnc agriculture, by affording an 

 abundance of the richest manure, but on 

 the commerce, and especially on the ship- 

 ping interests of the country, it has already 

 occasioned considerable improvement. Every 

 thing relating to it, is therefore, a matter of 

 importance, and even the natural diistory of 

 the article is something more than a mere 

 matter of curiosity. Its name, it would ap- 

 pear, is of Peruvian derivation, and had been 

 called, In the language of the natives, Iliiano, 

 signifying dung or manure; the Spaniards 

 now name it Guano or Guanar. 



The aborigines on the coast of Peru seem 

 to have used guano from time immemorial 

 as manure; and at the time of the European 

 discovery of the country, strict laws had 

 been enacted by the Incas, to guard the is- 

 lands in which it is found, and to punish 

 with death even, those who killed the sea- 

 fowls from which it was derived. Much 

 doubt was entertained for some time after 

 being brought to this country, with regard 

 to the origin of guano; the Spaniards early 

 questioned that which seemed to have been 

 clear to the inhabitants of Peru; but chemi- 

 cal examination, and other evidence, leave 

 it no longer undetermined, that the enormous 

 accumulations of this matter on sea islands, 

 in various localities, are nothing more than 

 the droppings of the myriads of fowls winch 

 inhabit them for the purposes of rest and in- 

 cubation. 



Morrell has termed such associations of 

 sea-fowl, "Rookeries," which is the common 

 appellation given to them by the South Sea 

 navigators. His description of one of the 

 Falkland islands is very graphic, and as it 

 is instructive, it is here, in substance, intro- 

 duced. Those islands extend north and 

 south from latitude 50° 58' to .52° 46' S., 

 and east and west from long. 57° 32' to 61° 

 29' W. The feathered tribes, he remarks, 

 are very numerous on the lonely isles in the 

 southern hemisphere, both in the South Seas 

 and in the South Atlantic Ocean. Of pen- 

 guins there are four kinds which resort to 

 the Falkland Islands, viz; — the King, the 

 Macaroni, the Jackass, and the Rookery 

 penguin; but the most remarkable bird 

 found on those shores, is the penguin's inti- 

 mate associate and most particular friend, 

 the Albatross. 



When a sufficient number of penguins, 

 albatrosses, &c., are assembled on the shore, 

 and a deliberate consultation on the subject 

 has been held, they proceed to the execution 



of the grand purpose for which they left their 

 favourite elemc.t. In the first place they se- 

 lect a level piece of ground, often comprising 

 an extent of four or five acres, as near the 

 water as practicable, always preferring that 

 which is the least encumbered with stones. 



As soon as they are satisfied on this point, 

 they proceed to lay out their plan, which 

 they commence by tracing a well defined 

 parallelogram, of sufficient magnitude to ac- 

 commodate the whole fraternity. One side 

 of this square runs parallel with the water's 

 edge, and is always left open; the other 

 three sides are differently arranged. 



These industrious feathered labourers next 

 proceed to clear all the ground within the 

 square from obstructions of every kind, pick- 

 ing up the stones in iheirbills, and carefully 

 dejiositing them outside of the lines before 

 mentioned, until they sometimes create a 

 little wall on three sides of the rookery; 

 within this range of stones and rubbish they 

 forui a pathway, quite smooth, six or eight 

 feet in width. This is for a general prome- 

 nade by day, and for the sentinels to patrole 

 by night. The whole area is then laid out 

 in little squares of equal sizes, formed by 

 narrow paths, which cross each other at 

 right-angles, and which are also made very 

 smooth ; at each intersection of these paths 

 an albatross constructs her nest, while in the 

 centre of each little square is a penguin's 

 nest, so that each albatross is surrounded by 

 four penguins. In this regular manner the 

 whole area is occupied by these feathered 

 sojourners of different species, having at 

 convenient distances, accommodations for 

 other kinds of oceanic birds, such as the 

 shag, or green cormorant, and anolsher which 

 seamen call the nelly. 



The penguin's nest is merely a slight ex- 

 cavation in the earth, just deep enough to 

 prevent the egg rolling from its primitive 

 position, while the albatross throws up a lit- 

 tle mound of earth, grass, and shells, eight 

 or ten inches high, and about the size of a 

 water-bucket, on the summit of which she 

 forms her nest. 



None of the nestS in these rookeries are 

 ever left unoccupied for a single uiomcnt, 

 until the eggs arc hatched, and the young 

 ones old enough to take care of themselves; 

 male and female alternately relieving one 

 another when in search of food. By this 

 precaution they prevent their eggs being 

 stolen by the other birds, which would be 

 the case if left exposed, but which, never- 

 theless, must be often done, for it frequently 

 happens that when the period of incubation 

 is terminated, the young brood will consist 

 of three or four ditFerent kinds of birds in 

 one nest. 



