The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1855-07-09
THE GUANO TRADE.

| An article upon the Guano trade publish
! ed in New York paper has some interest
ing facts, condensed statement of which
we give. 1t appears that the present annual
| Importation of Guano into the q. S. amount.
in value to about SIC. 900. The Chinchas
a group of three islands in the bay of Pisco
| are the chief source from which this article
is taken. These islands it is said are natu.
rally bare rocks, without any sign of vege
tstion of any sort. Each presents the ap.
pearance of fattened cone, from 100 to so
| feet above the water, rocky inequalities OF
| which have been piled up and covered with
| the Guano, the cuttings of which vary in
| depth from q few inches to hundred feet
The following describes the mode of loading
a ship.
"A ship first takes Ia by her boats enough guauo
TO ballast her, and approaches to a point of the
coast where the remainder of the cargo IL shot
down the cliff into the hold of the vessel. Some
vessels Chiefly the sma Ter ones) load entirely from
boats. Ga the top of the cliff deep bins con-
taining from one hundred to five hundred tons of
guano made OF long poles firmly bound together
and ibterwovsn with ropes ano chains These are
wide and open at the top but diminishing Ia size
toward their lower snd, which is the extreme
end OF the precipice To this is fitted a canvass
shute pipe, two feet In diameter which extends
down one hundred feet TO The deck of the ship
Through this shue the gusno passes la continuous
stream OF tremendous iurce al the rate OF from one
hundred to four hundred tons per day. The bin 10
filled by Chinese coolies and the Peruvian conycts
year since there were about three hundred OF
the former, but their number was then rapidly di.
minishing by Ill treatment Each man is compelled
TO bring to me shute five daily and If he fails
20 do go he Is punished by negro drivers with the
whip"
Since these deposits became of CONNER
cial Importance, which is now only about
three years ago, they have been source of
great wealth to the government of Peru,
which is now the most prosperous of the
South America Republics. "The amount of
its revenue from this source for 1854 and
1855, rs stated in the last Treasury Budget,
is estimated at $780, O0O 1t sells the priv
lege of loading vessels for about $40 a ton,
There are frequently over 100 vessels enpa.
ged in loading at the same time, and as each
vessel receives but one measure at its
turn. the period occupied in loading is
several weeks. The following is the official
report of the total amount of deposit. on
these islands. In the Fall of 1853 the Perm.
Wan Government employed corps of epgi
neers, headed by Mr.. Chas. Paraguet. to
measure their areas, and their reports were
printed in London, with photographic ilIus.
trations. OF this return we have this sum.
mary:
On the Northern Island. A 1879 At ton. NJ ,,.a.
Ga the Middle Islsad. "a hne 948 tons Of ,nss.t
On the Southern Island. $50 CTS tons of mes.n,t
Tot.l... SIS, leo tons OF mess,,n.
"This is to be increased one third as tho
difference made by breaking it up and form
ing tons of weight, as shipped, or in all l6.
sol, 1866 tons. This is probably correct g,
| innate, and shows that previous estimates
were too large
Since 1852, the American trade in Guano
has become equal to that of England, and is
thought likely to exceed it hereafter. New
York is the chief place of Guano Importation
and Baltimore next. The importation in the
latter city for 1884 amounted to 10000 tons.
valued at $4,000 900. Large deposits OF
Guano are found on many of the rocky is
lands along the coasts of South and Central
America and elsewhere, but in the dryness
of the localities, on which the value of the
artic g chiefly depends the Chincha island,
have not yet found competitor