The herald., 1922-06-01


Society. Washington, d. c.
Peru, already Of considerable agri-
cultural importance and destined u
become much more so, is fortunate in
having one of the most valuable
sources of natural fertilizer in the
wOrld-itS famous bird islands" on
which thousands of tons of guanO are
deposited in sort of annual crop.
These deposits, rich in precious nitro
gen, have been laid down OH the IS
lands for thousands of years, and un-
I'll recently there seemed a well-nigh
inexhauStible mine of the material. b
the tremendous world demand which
arose near the middle Of the past
century brought in its train waSteful
methods, and all the accumulated de-
pOsitS have been stripped away. The
annual accumulatiOns are still avail
able, however, and are worth many
hundreds of thousands Of dollars.
Peru's peculiar geographical cOndi-
lions make possible the preservation
of her valuable guanO crop" A few
showers might wash away the valua-
bile fertilizer, but thanks to its noun
tain masses, its very cold off-Shore
waters and its prevailing winds, the
region of the Bird islands is rainleSS
Guano, it will be understood, is pri-
marily the deposit of fiSh-eating birds,
into which may he mixed and incOr-
pOrated-in greater or less proportion
"a variety of other substances, such
as the eggs and bodies of birds and
the deposits and the bodies of sea-
lions. Ii may he found mixed with
gravel and sand in very small pro-
portion or sometimes TO an extent
rendering it Improbable to extract.
Peruvian Guano Is Best.
Peruvian guano" is practically
synonymous with heterogeneous guanU
and has long been recognized as the
best heterogeneous fertilizer-that is. as
a fertilizer Of generally high nitrogen
value in which the nitrogen COM
pounds are found in condition most
readily assimilable by our plants.
Nitrogen is IA primary necessity to
tance of adding to the soil potash and
other mineral cOmpOnents of our food
and our clothing, there never exists a
doubt as to the fundamental impOr-
lance of nitrogen. Consequently pc
culiar interest attaches to birds of the
Peruvian islands, which have long
served TO aid the worlds agriculture
and which, given due protection, may
continue indefinitely 10 contribute ma
terially to the support of humanity.
The peculiar climatic conditions pre-
viously mentioned offer merely the
proper envirOnmental conditions for the
preservation of the product. The pri-
mary requisite for abundant bird life
is the existence of plentiful food
supply, and this is found in the schools
of small fish, called anchobetas, that
swarm in the Peruvian current. There
shoals OF fish, acres in extent, are
often pursued in the water by bOnitO
and other large fish. while beset from
the air by thousands of birds.
Billions of pounds of fish must be
consumed each year by the birds, be-
sides the incalculable quantity de-
voured by other fishes; but the
fecundity of the anchObetas is such
What their numbers are still maintain
Ied. At times great acres of the sea
are made red by myriads of small,
brightly colOred shrimp-like crustacea;
and these. too, play a part of i'm
portance as food for the fishes and
birds.
Islands Crowded With Guanays.
Not all of the birds are of equal
importance from the commercial point
of view. Indeed, three species virtual
ly support the guano industry at the
present time-the white-breast cor
mOrant (guanay), the big gray pelican
and the whitehead gannet.
Guanays occur on the Peruvian cOas:
from near the northern to the extreme
southern boundary, but their pre-
eminent home is the double group of
islands opposite Pisco. in the South,
the Chinchas and the Ballestas.
The largest guanay flocks are found
on the Chincha islands. Upon the
south island Of the Chinchas. small
and generally triangular body of land
between 20 and 80 acres in area, there
is rookery which for size and COM
pactness can scarcely be rivaled in
anv part of the world.
The nesting ground occupies about
two-thirds of the surface Of the is
land. embracing the crown and the
gentle slopes of the hill that surmount
its low bluff walls. The nests are