The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1859-03-10

to turn Their busy wheels on almost every hueaui
Many of the great milling towns--such as Oswego
and Rochester--now draw portions Of their grist
from Canada and the distant northwestern States.
The wheat rents, once SO common in the olden time
Of New York now almost entirely committed for
in money.
In Massachusetts, the hay crop, its principal one,
has fallen OFF during the same period Of time at least
10 per cent. The Illinois lands, which once pro
dnced 65 bushels of corn to the acre, yield but
about AZ. In Wisconsin the product has fallen off
in ID years from 40 TO 20 bushels per acre. aud the
same ratio of decline is observed in the neghboring
States. If we had space we could show by the doc
uments emanating from the Treasury Department,
and comparison Of the census returns, that our
cereals have fallen off in quantity in most extra
ordinary degree in those States whore they once
were regular and profitable crop.
Just for moment calculate the quantity of the
food consumed in large city yearly, daily the
stituents of which from the soil to which it is
never returned, and which carried away by rains
and sewers into the rivers and into the sea. How
little Of this is saved though il would if preserved
enrich the soil of the surrounding country and make
eyery acre of tia garden. Consider how this waste
is steadily going on in populous cities and towns
and how anxiously careful agrcult'lrists are
seeking some new fertilizing substitute for those
they are thus continually losing,
II is, then, wondrous fact, worthy Of grateful
remembrance, that in this stage Of our threatened
decline Of production, the Great Ruler of the world
has directed the attention of to the subject and
theremedy As our forests have cleared away before
the sturdy stroke of pioneer settlers beds of coal
are fond in quantities scarcely to be computed in
figures As the streams dry up with the disappear
ing woods, the power of steam set free by mineral
fires does the work of the wheels which turn no
longer; and So civilization exhausts in its eager
ness and competition thoughtless of the treasure it
exhumes and wastes the substances of the soil, the
barren islands of the equatorial have been, for
centuries accommodating deposits of the most precious
fertilizer ever known to Peru values her Chncha
guano mines for such they may be considered Though
but the droppings of the birds of the hundred
millions of dollars and they are not only supporting
her government, navy, and public institutions by this
curious coin of the seas but have secured TO it's future
generations an almost entire exemption from taxa
ton
AS it has been found, them that this element
of strength for the soil, is the best and cheapest
which can be obtained at the present day, other
tons besides Peru have been DESTROYS of being ALSO
masters of this mint Our own Government in law
passed by Congress, in August 1856, authorized any
citizen who might discover any uninhabitcd island,
rock or key containing guano, not under the ursdic
ton a u other country, lawfully to take poss-
esson -! 1t, in the name of the United States
and under certain restrictions named therein, law
fully to occupy and enjoy the same. This wise
enactment, giving new impulse to American indus
try and commercial enterprise led to the immediate
occupation of two guano islands in the Pacific called
Jarvis and Bakers islands, and after some years of
difficulty, arising out of the nonperformance Of in
strucons given 10 the first government agents sent
out to commence operations, company has now sue
ceeded in working them efficiently, and cargoes Of
the article have arrived, and are constantly arriving
at the ports on the Atlantic seaboard Again, within
a few months past, intelligent, experienced,
and enterprising American ship captains have taken
possession of other islands almost under the equator
in the Pacific and directly in the route between San
Francisco and Australia called Christmas and How
land s. and Maldens and Arthurs islands, and have
secured their right to these and certain others by
the legal formalities required by the act of Congress
The former wac discovered by Capt. Cook on Christ
mas day. in I1I7 and though frequently visited by
whalers has never been occupied OF claimed by any
nation till now 1t is 80 miles long, of crescent
shape and contains within itself a lagoon with a
safe entrance large enough to hold in safety the lar
gest navy in the world 1t is cogered With guano to
a great depth 1t contains several cocoa-nut groves
one OF them with seven hundred trees and marginal
shrubs upon tle lagoon.
Howland's island is but three miles long and one
mile wide. Vessels can safely lie on the southwest
side, and it has considerable vegetation and large
beds of guano. Both these islands are visited by
countless millions Of birds and their eggs cover
acres of ground at time. The discoveries have
united themselves with some enterprising merchants
and others in company called the United States
iusao Company, md the ship Ivanhoe is now on her
way from San FEanoisco for a cargo, aud every ship
that returns thence to the Atlantic ports cail, she
has no better freight, bring back cargo of guano
from these islands at fifteen dollars per ton freight
The late arrivals from Honolelu bring us the
news-and what we have said previously prevents
any surprise ON part-that the Emperor of
France, by commissioner Of the name of Kervegaen
has formally taken possession of guano island