Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1871-07-26

Peruvian GuanO.

Peruvian Ouan0 Is substance OF such i'm.
portanco to agricuturists that any iuforma
ton relating to it will no doubt, prove inter.
esting to farmers and have consequently
thought that an account of its history, and
also Of the quality of that which is now i'm
ported into the United States, and Of the
probable future supply would be read with
interest by the members of your Club hence
the object OF this letter.
The oldest mention have met Of the word
Gusno' occurs IN the " Natural aud Moral
History Of Indies, written by Father Acosta,
Jesuit priest. The edition have seen Of
this work was printed in Seville, in 1890,
that is to say more than a quarter Of a cen-
fury before the Pilgrim Fathers landed on
the New England coast The passage where
guano is mentioned is to be found in Book
", chap. 81, aud reads as follows
On some islands near the coast Of Peru
may be seen, from great distance, large hills
Of a white color, which look as if covered
with snow yet are they nothing but heaps
Of sea-iowl dung, in 30 great a quantity that
it rises yards and even lances in height to an
extent that would seem fabulous Vessels 20
to these islands FOR no other purpose than to
load this dung for no other Kind Of produce
is found on them And this substance is 80
efficient that the land MANFRED with it will
yield an abundant return Of grain and fruit.
They call it Guano"
OF still older date than the work of Acos-
ia are the Commentaries Of the Incas, "
written by Garclaso de Ia Vega, who died in
1868. His mother was an Indian princess,
his father Spanard Of good family. Gar
cilaso gives very interesting account Of the
manner in which the birds which produced
the guano were protected by the laws of the
lncas, which made it punishable act to kill
the sea-fowl, gather their eggs, or even to
visit the islands during the breeding time.
He goes on to say how each island was d.
yided by landmarks, apportonng it among
the different provinces Of the kingdom, to
each Of which was designated the quantity Of
guano it might use during the season for ma
nuring. Garcilaso greatly extols the fcrtiliz-
ing properties Of guano, but does not call it
by this or any other special name.
The Peruyians continue to this day to en-
ploy guano as fertilizer, and in fact it is the
only manure used in this country The gov.
ernment, to whom all guano deposits belong,
allows those requiring it for home consump.
ton to take what they may need, free Of any
charge yet the agriculturists in the interior
have to pay for it, in many localities, as high
price as it is sold for in New York, in con-
sequence Of the expense attending its trans.
portation from the coast, which is generally
effected on the backs of llamas or on don.
keys.
Guano was first made known in Europe by
Humboldt, who called attention to its impor-
lance and l believe the sample analyzed by
Fourcroy and Vauquelin, at the beginning of
this century, was sent to France by that great
traveller.
About thirty years ago a certain quantity
Of guano was sent to England from Peru to
test its worth as a merchantable article. II
was addressed to commission merchant, who
placed it in the hands of broker, who in hi
turn advertised it and had il put up at auc
ton; but the article, not being among thos,
quoted in the price current list found no bid
ders, and was declared valueess Upon thi
the commission merchant, acting in the inter
est of his constituent, ordered the entir
parcel Of guano to be thrown into the Thame
River, to avoid storage and other expenses
and no doubt came to the conclusion that h
had acquitted himself Of his trust in bust
ness-like and creditable manner. Not dis
eouraged by the failure of this first attempt
another sample Of guano was sent to England
On this occasion, however, it was not ofTeret
for sale but placed in the hands of agricul
turists to test its merits as manure. Tn
result may be easily imagined Whereve
used it gave the most ample proofs of its fer
tilizing qualities, and demand immediatel
sprang up, purchasers being found willing t.
take the guauo at f20 or 800 gold per ton
The parties who thus became aware of tn
value Of guano purchased from the Peruvian
government, for the sum of $4,000, the ex
elusive right Of taking it from the islands AM
m Europa hpf .bav a.
long allowed to enjoy this privilege, the gov
ernment claiming the benefit Of law whic
authorizes the RECESSION Of any contract, o
sale, when the value of the thing is greatly il
excess Of the consideration given for it. Ate
this the government began exporting guam
on its own account, through the agency Of tn
house of Gibbs & Sons of London. This wa
in 1912 and from few thousand tons tina
were at first exported annually, the amour
rapidly increased to its present figure, viz
from four 10 fire hundred thousand tons.
The high price which guano commando
soon led to the search for, and discovery OF
similar deposits in other parts of the worlC
In South Africa, and in several islands in tn
Pacific and Caribbean sea- guano has bee
found. II also exists on the coast of Chi
and Of Bolivia. The importation Of thes
into England caused the price to fall I
20 los. per ton yet as the demand for cor
sumption increased, and the superior qualit
Of Peruvian over most others was estabishe,
the price became higher so that guano frol
the Chincha Islands is at present sold
Europe at el3 los. per ton of 224O lbs
which is about equivalent to s675O gold, th
price demanded for the same article by III
agents Of the Peruvian government in Il
United States.
Until lately all guano exported from Per
came from the Chiucha Islands, situated
about lat. l3s south, at distance of near
sixty miles from the coast These islands on,
contained from twelve to fifteen millions tor
Of fertilizing matter, At present but lit