The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1904-10-07
USING PERUVIAN aUAN0.
Farmers Who Have Used 1t Find
itValuabl, ana Economical.

forty.two hundred tons Of Peruvian
guano aboard, the British steamship
Condor, Capt Anderson. arrived In
port recently and is now discharging
her cargo at the South Carolina Term.
inal wharf at the foot of Columbus
street. AS fast as the fertilizer is taken
iTom the nold il is packed In labelled
sacks and made ready for shipment to
the interior ant to the agriculturists
along the coast. The cargo Is consign-
ed to order, though it belongs to @.
Mortimer g. Co.
This shipment Is the first of series
which will be received during the win
ter, q vessel bearing seventy-f1ve hun
dred tons being due here next month.
OF Ter shipments will be made to q.
Mortimore s. Co as is deemed neces-
sary to supply the demand, which has
been steadily growing as the farmers
become better acquainted with its vir-
tues as fertilizer. That public atten.
tion is being rapidly awakened to the
fact that genuine Peruvian guano can
be bought in that city is made evident
by the fact that farmers in the inter
ior are asking for information regard
ing the fertilizer and Friday party
of representative farmers from Or
angeburg County were in the city to
personally examine the cargo and sat-
isfy themselves as to its efficacy. The
party consisted Of Messrs G. L. Salley,
clerk Of Court; T. w. Zeigler, N. N.
Hayden, T. r. McCants, j. G. Smith,
@. A. Stroman, A. D. Fair, +. 1.
Gates and l.. G. Way. A party frt m
Chesterfield County and party from
Marion County have signified their in.
tention Of coming to the city at an
early date to look at the guano. The
gentlemen from Orangeburg Friday
said that they were satisfied that 1t
was the genuine article.
Several days will be necessary to
unload the cargo of the Condor as the
men below are unable to labor for any
great length Of time on account Of the
penetrating odor Of ammonia. In spite
Of the fact that wind sails are provid-
ed, the men were unable to stay in the
hold Friday and only one hatchway
was utilized. The hot humid weather
renders the ordor Of ammonia pecu.
liarly suffocating.
1.-THE Condor came direct from
LObCS de Tierra, an island about fifty
miles of the coast Of Peru. These
guano deposits are found on the rocky
islands and in gullieS and ravines
along the coast. They must ha, e
been for very long time the solitudes
Of yaSt number Of sea birds, such
as penguins, pelicans, gannets, alba
tross, shags, petrels, and gulls, as well
as Of seals and sea lions. These is.
lands, from which the guano Is taken,
are their living and breeding places as
we'll as their cemeteries, where the
birds lived and died, and the acCnmu-
latiOn consists, not only Of the slowly
putrefying eXcrementS OF innumerable
sea fowl, but of their carcasseS as
we'll. Many Of these mummitied car.
cases have been found In the cargo OF
the Condor and dozens Of petriiie
eggs have been unearthed by the picks
Of the laborers in the hold. Thai
the guano consist In measure, o
these decomposed carcasses would
appear from the average composition
Of good guano as compared with the
composition Of more recent accumula
tiOn OF pure eXcreta.
AT first Thought one might ina
gine that heavy rains would wash The
accumulation into the sea, but wher
1t is remembered that rain never fal'.
on certain sections Of the coast o.
Peru it is readily seen that The
exereta remains undisturbed by
nature. In speaking of this phase o.
the subject, famous professor has
observed: 1T Is the dryness OF the
climate which has permitted the
guano to accumulate on these coasts
When we reach region which from
local causes, the dews are heavier
and the rains more frequent, the
accumulation ceases; cold water dis
solves at least three tfthS OF the
guano In the state in which 1T reaches
US. A single day Of English rain
would dissolve and carry into the sea
considerable portion Of one of the
largest accumulations; single year OF
English weather would cause many OF
them to entirely disappear"
The rapidity with which the ex-
creta OF the sea fowls accumulates Is
almost inconceivable to the minds OF
dWellers in this section Of the country,
and one single example may serve to
give one some adequate conception OF
the rapid accumulation. A small
barren rocky isle, Smiths Island, OIL
the coast Of Peru, was laid bare by
ships twenty-five years ago, and it
was thought that 1t would be useless
10 visit the isle again until fifty or
hundred years elapsed. Recently
vessel anchored off Smith Island
and it was found that more than 25,-
600 tons had accumulated III the
twenty-fiv years.
the following description OF the
formation Of guano, written by one
who has passed considerable time at
the deposits, may not be uninterest-
ing:
THE deposits Of Lobos de Afuera
having remained unworked for some
years and the birds having become re-
assured, they returned to their old
haunts. l paid my first visit TO these
islands during March Of 1879. The
pelicans were then assembled together
at a deposit already partially formed,
and on the surface Of 1t they were
Matching and rearing their young.
The nests, consisting Of a circle of sea
weed and odds and ends, appeared to
have been constructed more with the
view Of indicating the limit OF each
property, or OF preventing the eggs
from rolling down into the sea, than
Nf So y L., -