288 
On the Analysis of Guano. 
however, is now the result, as attested by the concurring Reports of 
almost all the Agricultural Societies of Great Britain and Ireland. No 
less than 28,500 tons of guano have been already imported from Peru 
and Bolivia, 1500 from Chile, and 1000 from Africa, altogether 
37,000 tons, while more is on the way. The store of it, laid up from 
time immemorial in the above localities, seems to be quite inexhaustible; 
especially since it is receiving constant accessions from myriads of 
cormorants, flamingos, cranes, &c. 
Having been much occupied with the chemical analyses of guano 
during the last two years for Messrs. Gibbs, of London, and Messrs. 
Myers, of Liverpool, who are the co agents of the Peruvian and Bolivian 
governments, I have enjoyed favourable opportunities of examining 
samples of every description, and hope to show that many of the analyses 
of guano hitherto published have been made upon specimens not in 
their normal or sound state, like the best imported by the above houses 
from Chincha and Bolivia, but in a certain state of eremacausis* and 
decay. 
Huano, in the language of Peru, signifies dung : a word spelt by the 
Spaniards, guano. The natives have employed it as a manure from the 
remotest ages, and have by its means given fertility to the otherwise un- 
productive sandy soils along their coasts. While Peru was governed by 
its native Incas, the birds were protected from violence by severe laws. 
The punishment of death was decreed to the persons who dared to land 
on the guaniferous islands during the breeding period of the birds, and to 
all persons who destroyed them at any time. Overseers were appointed 
by the government to take care of tlie guano districts, and to assign to 
each claimant his due share of the precious dung. The celebrated 
Baron Von Humboldt first brought specimens to Europe in 1804, 
which he sent for examination to Fourcroy, Vauquelin, and Klaproth, 
the best analytical chemists of the day ; and he spoke of it in the follow- 
ing terms: — " The guano is deposited in layers of 50 or 60 feet thick 
upon the granite of many of the South-sea islands off the coast of Peru. 
During 300 years the coast birds have deposited guano only a few lines 
in thickness. This shows how great must have been the number of 
birds, and how many centuries must have passed over in order to form 
the present guano beds." The strata have undergone many changes, 
according to the length of time they have been deposited. Here and 
there they are covered with siliceous sand, and have thus been protected 
from the influence of the weather ; but in other places, they have lain 
open to the action of light, air, and water, which have produced im- 
portant changes upon them. Fresh guano is of a whitish or very pale 
drab colour, but it becomes progressively browner and browner by the 
joint influence of the above three atmospherical agents. Only owe guano 
examined by Fourcroy and Vauquelin was found to contain a fourth of 
its weight of uric acid combined with ammonia, whence tliat appears to 
liave been well selected by Baron Von Humboldt. They also found 
* The decomposition of animal and vegetable bodies by the joint action 
of air and water is shown by Liebig to be analogous to their combustion — 
as denoted by the term eremacausis, a Greek work, signifying slotv coin- 
biistioii. 
