Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-09-03
GUANO IS GROWING SCARCE.
Nitrate Supply Diminishing and
Lone Islands Becoming Valueless.

enrichment of the soil Is nearly ex-
hausted. Now and then some islet Of
the Pacific which has remained undis-
covered Of neglected till a late day Is
found to be rich in guano though most
Of the guano islands have been de-
spoiled of all their natural wealth.
Nameless Island Qt has native name
by the way) is one Of the guano islands
whose deposits were not discovered till
within the last few. years.
This uninhabited rock, upon which no
one thought 1t worth while to land un-
til recently, now presents busy scene.
A wharf has been built out into the sea
for the accommodation Of the Austria
liam guano schooners that bring sup
plies to the force of miners who are
digging up the deposits and loading
them on vessels bound for Sydney. In
the course Of a few years everything
worth taking away from Nameless Is
land will have been removed and then
It will be deserted again.
The same history Is likely to be re-
peated at the little island. few hun
dred miles from Japan, whose claims
to the rich guano deposits found there
have just been recognized by our gov
ernment. Japan is great consumer OF
fertilizers. Thousands Of tons Of fish
are buried every year around the roots
he
learned the lesson we are teaching that
it is worth while to build factories to
convert menhaden and fish refuse into
fertilizers.
All the guano found on this island
will be taken to Japan and then the
source Of supply will be abandoned. like
scores of other Pacific islands which
once yielded large quantities Of the fer
tiliZer.
Until a few years ago many OF these
islets were marked on the very best
maps as belonging to the United States.
We had not claimed sovereignty over
them, and there was no reason why
they should be mapped as belonging to
US except that our schooners alone
were engaged in carrying away the only
riches they seemed to possess. Nearly
all of them are now in the domain or
England and Germany, but 1t Is doubt
full IL they ever will be utilized In any
way. The very reason why large stores
of valuable fertilizer accumulated there
untitled them for human occupancy.
Scarcely a drop Of rain every falls on
them. Their aridity conserved the COM
mercial value of their deep deposits OF
guano, but the same phenomenon
makes them undesirable for other hu-
man enterprises.
The imports Of guano into our coun-
try and Europe have now nearly
ceased, owing to the exhaustion or the
sources Of supply. About the middle or
the last century, when no fertilizers
were sold west of Pennsylvania, we
were importing about $4,000 tons OF
guano a year, five-sixths Of the supply
coming from the guano islands along
the coast of Peru. At that time all the
imports were received at Baltimore and
bore the inspection brand Of the guano
inspector there. Those years for about
three decades were the palmiest days
of guano digging along the Peruvian
coast.
The islands Of this very arid region
were covered with the excrement and
remains of seabirds that during many
centuries had accumulated to a great
depth. The agricultural value of this
fertilizer was well-known to the an
cient Peruvians, whose laws forbade
the killing or molestation Of the birds;
thus modern farming has been Indebted
TO these civilized aborigines Of centuries
ago for great deal Of the fertilizer
that has enriched the fields Of this
country and Europe.
But the Peruvian islands have now
been practically swept clean OF their
guano deposits. Our imports or over
80 900 tons of guano a year have drop
ned to less than 5000 tons; and most
of this Is not pure guano, but phos-
phate rock, which requires chemical
treatment before 1t can be utilized.
Most of the guano now imported comes
from Navassa, Sombrero and other
places where there Is considerable rain
fall. The rain teaches the soluble salts
from the guano and the underlying
rock becomes altered to a considerable
depth. This limestone. thus altered by
the salts from the guano. Is what Is
mined at Navassa and elsewhere. II Is
usually called bone phosphate of lime
and Is the form in which four-f1fths or
the guano still utilized is received.
The latest reports from the great
nitrate fields of Chile is that the yield
is decreasing in some Of the most pro-
ductive mines and that new grouno Is
beeinning to be worked. The farmers
of northwestern Europe are still ouylng
more than a million tons a year or this
very valuable fertilizer, and perhaps
the supply will be. equal to the de-
mand for many years to come. II Is
significant fact, however, that the
miners who are working by thousands
to supply the demand are beginning 10
go further afield and are opening de-
posits thus far untouched because they
are not so conveniently situated for
shipping nitrate as the mines already
deyeloped.-New York Sun.
sa' When ironing lace always lay a
n;ece of soft muslin over fine lace, never
touch It directly with the iron. Cro-