The herald., 1922-06-01

ly three to the square yard. and not
yard Of ground within the outside
limits of the rookery is unoccupied.
In form and arrangement the nests mp
pear as heavy rolled-rim basins stuck
into the hillside.
The guanay well deserves Its com
mon name. Its gregariOus habit. its
choice Of the level places or more
gentle slopes for nesting grounds, and
its custom of remaining on the is
lands great part Of the time all COM
bine 10 cause the formation of enOr-
nous deposits Of guanO. from which
there is little natural waste. In the
region where this bird Is most ahun-
dant, about the Chinchas and Bal
leStas islands. the climate conditions
are most favorable 10 the preservation
Of the nitrateS. II is doubtful If the
guano of the Chinchas and Ballestas
islands is ever wet from atmospheric
moisture. A pair of guanays. with
their offspring, produce nearly $3.50
worth of guanO per year.
How the Work Is Done.
The guano workers are practically
all Peruvians of the ancient stock, and
many of them come down from the
mountains to engage in this work.
Often there are few in the camp who
can speak Spanish and the foreman
can communicate with the employees
only by signs or through an interpre-
ter.
The extraction of guano is very
simple process. Where the material
is comparatively recent, the only i'm
plements required are the pick and
the shovel. Il screen and a few sacks.
The surface cake Il first broken up
and thrown into small heaps. Where
several contractors have concession
from the government covering the
same island, there is much rivalry in
getting the best guano mounded, for
this is the only recognized method Of
establishing claim 10 particular
field.
The guano is subsequently pitched
through slanting wire screens To re-
move the gravel, and then sacked for
embarkatiOn by lanchaS. which are
strongly constructed lighters in the
form Of rOwboats, adapted for use in
the heavy swell liable TO prevail about
the islands.
A very common method of convey
ing the guano To the lighter is by means
Of the andarivel, an aerial trolley con-
sisting of two stout wire cables suS-
pended between frame at the top of
the island and some convenient rock
somewhat removed from the shore.
The boat is rowed beneath the lower
part of the cable to receive the guanO,
lowered by pulleys and windlaSS. Both
ends Of the line being attached TO
travelling pulleys, the sacks of guanO,
descending by gravity, draw the empty
sacks back. No power is applied TO
the windlasS except to prevent the
too-rapid descent of the guano. When
the lancha is loaded il is rowed out
To the vessel, where the sacks are
hOisted into the hold.
A much more extensive equipment
Is found on the larger islands of the
north. An American company, con-
tracing for the Peruvian exporters,
has laid lines of track for conveying
the guano by tram-cars, and the screen
ing is done from trsstles over lower
level track.
BY far the greatest portion of the
guano that has been exported con-
sisted OF the ancient deposits, called
mineral" guanO, which in places
covered the islands to great depths.
This has been simply stripped away
until scarcely any of the old guanO re-
mains except some of the lowest
grades that scarcely justify exporta-
ton.
1t is within the bounds Of possibility
that additional deposits buried be-
meath the surface, may yet be located.
Unless this be the case, the industry
is permanently reduced to the annual
deposits, which scarcely exceed the
demands of Peruvian agriculture in
it's present condition, without prOvid-
ing for the great future developments
in land cultivation in that country
that must follow sooner or later with
the adoption of more elaborate sys-
tens of irrigation.
Though the important birds have
been greatly reduced in numbers. it
is reasonable to expect a substantial
increase under natural conditions, il
interference with the breeding be re-
duced 10 the minimum consistent witE
the utilization of the deposits.