The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1859-03-24
THE l-dPoRTATIONs OF GUANo

amy Government, and made the proper re-
port to the proper authorities at Washing
ton, they sl,culd be protected in the righ,
OF occupying it and removing its deposits
Under the provisions Of this act nearly fifty
islands have been discovered aud reported
to the National Government. They nearly
nil lie i'll the Pacific, but few Of them are
IN the Atlantic ocean. We may, there
fore, expect that from these islands, and
from other islands in the Caribbean sea, be-
them, us well us from the ricl. mine of
wealth Peru possesses in her Chincha
Islands, large supplies Of guano will be pla.
ccd within the reach of our farmers. We
regard this us i very fortunate circum-
stance. 1t is All alarming fact, that the
productive power of many Of our best ag-
,icuitnrt regions is decreasing. For Il
time Il large portion of the SOL Of Virgin,
III, Maryland and Delaware appeared to be
almost entirely exhausted and New Eng
land, New York. Pennsylvania, and even
NV ''SH "Hu ic't"c icSloHS Vi tuc w cSt,
are said, by those who have closely nvesi-
gated the subject, to have greatly detcrio-
rated in their fertility. This is caused by
the constant removal, in the various crops,
Of important constituents of the soil, whicl,
are not restored by the ordinary mannres
placed upon the land Yea, after year we
tr, f.,t, Of
wheat, rye, oats, potatoes, etc, which are
sent off to markets distant from the place
Of their production, and the ordinary gath
crlngs OF the harn-yards replaced upon
farms afford but Il scanty return for the im-
por,a:it clements which arc thus removed
from them.
s''ano me; with shortly after its introiuc-
ton, made it, in Il great measure, the stand
ard 10y which aIl other guanos were tested
but i, essentially differs from the s,anos
toun'! upon the other islands we have :,lIu-
dcd to, i'll the fact that it contains Il large per
ccnta." vi ammonia, while the deposits of
the other islands consist chiefly OF phos-
rl'atic ingredients. All the deposits are
originally formed from the cxcremcnt of
birds; but the Cbincl,a Islands are in a
raInl.ss latitude, and tho ammonia of the
original depositsis is thus retained for II long
series of years, and forms the most impor-
tant portion OF the article presented for sale
to the farmer. The other gnanos arc dc.
posted upon islands which are subjected.
ut certain Seasons Of the year, to very
heavy rains, which was'' out their animal
matter and ammonia, leaning upon the is
lands little else than the mineral constit-
acn's, which are formed chiefly f,om the
bones OF the fishes upon which the birds
su">la'. In some cases these guanos are
found in a pulverized condition, while in
others they have, by the action of ccntu-
ries, been traniormed INTO solid rocks,
which must be ground to fine powder be.
fore they can be proiitably used by farmers
When these phosphate guanos were first
introduced, there was considerable hestan-
cy upon the part Of agricuIturists in using
them at all but many thousands Of tons
have now been sold in this country, in Eng
land and on the continent, and have given
great satisfaction. They vary very much
in value, anayz:ng from 80 to o5 per cent
OF bone phosphate Of lime Although
some Of the agricultural chemists of the
day do not appear disposed to ccnccle as
great value 10 these & uanos as their advo-
Gates claim for them, the general testimony
of those who have fully investigated the
mattcr-among whom stands conspicuous
the grca: master of agricultural chemistry,
Baron l.cJig-and the practical experience
OF thousands Of farmers, concur in pro-
"ounc'ng them extremely valuable. They
act upon the soil very much in the same
way rs ground bones but rs bones con.
tan but about so per cent Of the phos
pilates, or 23.Gl per cent. of phosphoric
acid, the superior varieties of phosphate
guanos, which contain from 80 to 90 or 95
per cent. OF the pIlosphates, are more valua-
Wv 't'h1S'S pOucS themselves, lie
most valuable portions OF the food con-
sunled by men and animals are used to
form their bones and when we consider
that the constituents Of the soil thus used
are rarely or never returned to the soil
that very large portion of the cxcre,nents
OF human and brute beings are never re-
claimed for agricultural purposes; that i'm
mense quantities Of grain and produce are
shipped from our shores to foreign coun-
tries; that the riches Of our soil are con-
stanlly being washed away into The little
streams which penetrate every section of
the country; that the sewers of great cities
convey immense quantities Of valuable fer
tlizlng matter into the rivers upon which
they arc located, and that thus the ocean is