j 70 THE INHABITANTS OF THE SEA. 



forward with anxiety to the period when the guano will no longei 

 suffice for the wants of husbandry. At the present day they use 

 it chiefly in the cultivation of maize and potatoes. A few weeks 

 after the seeds begin to shoot, a little hole is made round each 

 root and filled up with guano, which is afterwards covered with a 

 layer of earth. After the lapse of twelve or fifteen hours, the 

 whole field is laid under water, and left in that state for about 

 half a day. Of the guano bianco a less quantity suffices, and the 

 field must be more speedilyand abundantly watered, otherwise the 

 roots would be destroyed. The effect of this manure is incredibly 

 rapid. In a few days the growth of the plant is doubled ; if the 

 manure is repeated a second time, but in smaller quantity, a rich 

 harvest is certain;— at least the produce will be three, times 

 greater than that which would have been obtained from the un- 

 manured soiL The uniformity of climate, along a coast where 

 rain is never known to fall, contributes essentially to the superior 

 quality of the Chincha guano, as atmospherical precipitations 

 naturally dissolve and wash away many of the most fertilising 

 salts. 



The consumption of guano in Western Europe, and particu- 

 larly in England, increases with surprising rapidity. On the 

 island of Iquique a layer thirty feet deep, and covering a space 

 of 220,000 square feet, has been entirely removed within twenty- 

 seven years. In the year 1854, 250,000 tons were dug in the 

 Chincha Islands, and the actual annual exportation amounts to 

 double the quantity. The digestive functions of the Sula and 

 her companions thus bring in larger sums to the Peruvian 

 Government than all the silver mines of Cerro de Pasco, and 

 the transport of the guano employs larger fleets than ever Spain 

 possessed at the brightest period of her power. 



" The Chincha Islands," says Castelnau (Exp&dition dans Us 

 Parties Centrales de UAmirique du Sud; Paris, 1851), "are 

 completely desert and devoid of vegetation ; their granite soil 

 is clearly distinguished by its colour from the thick stra- 

 tum of guano with which it is covered, and the surface of 

 which looks at a distance like snow. The steep banks render 

 landing difficult, but facilitate at the same time the shipping of 

 the produce, as the vessels lie at anchor close to the pits. 

 Digging takes place at three places, close to one another, and 

 the traveller has only to compare the enormous deposits with 



