202 



Guano. 



Vol. XII. 



Gaano. 



From Travels in Peru, by Dr. John J. VonTschudi. 



Opposite to Pisco and Chinca there is a 

 group of small island?, of which the largest, 

 Sangallan, is six English miles distant from 

 Pisco. These islands have of late years be- 

 come celebrated on account of the great 

 quantity of Guano that has been exported 

 from them. 



Guano — (or according to the more correct 

 orthography, Huanu, which is a term in the 

 Quichua dialect, meaning "animal dung;" 

 is found on these islands in enormous layers 

 of from 35 to 40 feet thick. The upper stra- 

 ta are of a greyish-brown color, which lower 

 down becomes darker. In the lower strata, 

 the color is a rusty red, as if tinged with ox- 

 ide of iron. The Guano becomes progres- 

 sively more and more solid from the surface 

 downwards, a circumstance naturally ac- 

 counted for by the gradual deposite of the 

 strata, and the evaporation of the fluid par- 

 ticles. Guano is found on all the islands, and 

 on most of the uninhabited promontaries of 

 the west coast of South America, especially 

 in those parts within the tropics. I have 

 otten been assured that beds of guano, several 

 teet high, covered with earth, are found in 

 land at some distance from the sea; but I 

 never met with any, and I have some doubt 

 of the correctness of the statement. If, how- 

 ever, these inland strata exist, I am inclined 

 to believe that they can only be found on 

 hilly ground: and in that case, they afford 

 strong evidence of a considerable elevation 

 of the coast. 



Guano is formed of the excrements of dif- 

 ferent kinds of marine birds, as mews, divers, 

 siioarbeaks, &c. 



The immense flocks of these birds, as 

 they fly along the coast, appear like clouds. 

 When their vast numbers, their extraordi- 

 nary voracity, and the facility with which 

 they procure their food, are considered, one 

 cannot be surprised at the magnitude of the 

 beds of guano, which has resulted from un- 

 interrupted accumulations during thousands 

 of years. I kept for some days a living Sula 

 varieqata, which I fed abundantly with fish. 

 The average weight of the excrement daily 

 was from three and a half to five ounces. I 

 have no doubt that when the bird is in a state 

 of freedom, the weight must be much great- 

 er, tor these birds are constantly ploughing 

 into the sea, in order to devour the fishes 

 which they find in extraordinary numbers 

 around all the islands. When an island is 

 inhabited by millions of sea birds, though 

 two-thirds of the guano should be lost while 

 flying, still a very considerable stratum 



would be accumulated in the course of a 

 year. 



The marine birds nestle on the uninhabit- 

 ed islands, or on rocks near the shore; but 

 they never settle on the flat beach, or on any 

 place distant from it inland. On this fact I 

 ground my conjecture that those beds of gu- 

 ano in the interior, which may have been re- 

 moved from the shore by important eleva- 

 tions of the coast, are to be found only on 

 hills. 



During the first year of the deposite, the 

 strata are white, and the guano is then called 

 Guano Blanco. In the opinion of the Peru- 

 vian cultivators, this is the most efficacious 

 kind. It is found in the Punla de Hormil- 

 los, or the islands of Islay, Margarita, &c. 



As soon as the dealers in guano begin to 

 work one of the beds, the island on which it 

 is formed is abandoned by the birds. It has 

 also been remarked, that since the increase 

 of the trade and navigation, they have 

 withdrawn from the islands in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the ports. 



Much has been recently written on the 

 employment and utility of guano; but the 

 manner in which it is applied as manure in 

 Peru, seems to be but little known. The 

 Peruvians use it chiefly in the cultivation of 

 maize and potatoes. A few weeks after the 

 seeds begin to shoot, a little hollow is dug 

 around each root and is filled up with guano, 

 which is afterwards covered with a layer of 

 earth. Aft^er the lapse of twelve or fit\een 

 hours, the whole field is laid under water, 

 and it is letl in that state for some hours. 

 Of the Guano Blanco a less quantity suf- 

 fices, and the field must be more speedily and 

 abundantly watered, otherwise, the roots will 

 be destroyed. The effect of this manure is 

 incredibly rapid. In a few days the growth 

 of a plant is doubled. If the manure be re- 

 peated a second time, but in smaller quanti- 

 ty, a rich harvest is certain — at least, the 

 produce will be three-fold that which baa 

 been obtained from the unmanured soil. 



The haciendas of the Valley of Chancay 

 have, during the last fifty years, consumed 

 annually from 33,000 to 3(5,000 bushels of 

 guano brought from the islands of Chancha 

 and Pisco. The price of the bushel of co- 

 loured guano is one dollar and a quarter, and 

 the price of the white from two to three dol- 

 lars. The price has recently undergone 

 many fluctuations, in consequence of the 

 great exports to Europe. 



The employment of this kind of manure 

 IS very ancient in Peru ; and there is authen- 

 tic evidence of its having been used in the 

 time of the Incas. The white guano was 

 then chiefly found on the islands opposite to 



