ABOUT PERUVIAN GUANO. 353 



reduced phosphoric acid, i. e., sohible in a solution of citrate 

 of ammonia, of 1.09 specific gravity at from 30° to 40° C. 

 6.0 cts. for each pound of insoluble phosphoric acid ; 30.0 

 for each pound of nitrogen, without any particular reference 

 to the form in which it is present ; 8.0 cts. for each pound of 

 potassium. 



I begin with a commercial fertilizer, which is universally 

 considered a standard article, namely, 



Peruvian Guano. 



To obtain reliable information concerning our annual con- 

 sumption of Peruvian guano, I addressed a letter during the 

 month of September, 1873, to the agents of the Peruvian 

 government in New York City, Messrs. Hobson, Hurtardo 

 & Co. The prompt answer which I received contained the fol- 

 lowing passage : "The annual consumption of Peruvian guano 

 in this country ranges between thirty thousand and thirty- 

 live thousand tons, mostly Guanape Island guano, the stock 

 of Chincha Island guano having been lately greatly reduced, 

 and a large number of our customers preferring the former. 

 The prices as fixed by the Peruvian government for three or 

 four years past, have been, and still are, the following: — 



''Chincha Island guano, per ton of 2,240 pounds, $67.50 

 gold (=$76.95 currency).* 



" Guanape Island guano, per ton of 2,240 pounds, $60 gold 

 (= $68.40 currency). 



" These prices rule in all depots, viz. : New York, Baltimore, 

 Charleston, S. C, and Savannah, Ga." An extensive dealer 

 in Peruvian guano, in New York, offered at about the same 

 time 2,240 pounds Guanape guano, in cases of from 10 to 50 

 tons at $60 gold (:= $68.40 currency) ; retail dealers of the 

 same city asked $60 gold for 2,000 pounds (==$69.50 cur- 

 rency). Farmers in our vicinity paid $80 currency for 2,000 

 pounds, which is an advance of about $19 to $20 currency per 

 ton on the first price. It has been known for several years 

 past, that the deposits of guano upon the Chincha Islands, 

 after furnishing to the world from twelve to fifteen millions of 

 tons of guano, are almost entirely exhausted. The exportation 

 of guano from the Guanape Islands, Peru, began in 1868. These 



gold = $114 currency at the time. 

 45 



