710 Letters, Extracts, and Notes. 



practically the guano of that season was lost, because a very 

 large amount of the deposit takes place during the breeding 

 season. 



The guano islands lie all along the coast of Peru, 

 beginning with the Lobos Islands in the north and extending 

 down the coast to a point opposite jMollendo in the south — a 

 distance of more than 1000 miles. When Dr. Forbes first 

 arrived there was hardly a bird to be seen on the islands. 

 For certain reasons his investigations were delayed until late 

 in 1912, when he was invited by President Billiughurst to 

 make suggestions as to the best means of increasing the 

 guano supply. The President placed a small motor-boat 

 at his disposal, and he visited the whole of the coast from 

 the boundaries of Peru and Chile as far as the northern 

 boundary. He investigated all the islands and roosting 

 rocks along that coast, and was able to make suggestions as 

 to their utilization in such a way that more guano might be 

 collected on them. 



There are about eight species of birds which are valuable 

 as guano producers. The most important of these is 

 Bougainville's Cormorant [Phalacrocorax hougainvUlli), 

 whose chief nesting-place is the Chincha Islands. On the 

 middle one of these islands there were breeding in the 

 month of February some ten million birds, sitting in the 

 closci^t proximity to each other. This is one of the most 

 wonderful bird sights to be seen in the world. The going 

 and coming of these birds is a marvellous spectacle, and 

 the noise which they make is hardly less remarkable. 

 Their instinct in finding their nests is also extraordinarv, 

 for though they are constantly going and coming tliey 

 never make a mistake. One bird sits on the nest while 

 the other is feeding, and is relieved in turn by its mate. 

 At times the noise is just like the sough of the sea aud 

 at others it resembles the sound of a great crowd, all 

 the members of which are talking at once. When they 

 leave their nests to feed, the Bougainville's Cormorants start 

 for their fishing-grounds at five or six in the morning and 



