The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1922-05-19

" a DN the NdllOlAd IlllC
Society. Washington. d. c.
Peru, already of considerable agri-
cultural importance and destined To
become much more SO, is fortunat 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 a sort of annual crop.
These deposits, rich in precious nitro
gen, have been laid down on the IS
lands for thousands of years. and un-
til recently there seemed a well-nigh
i~nexhaustible mine of the material. But
the tremendous world demand which
arose ear the middle of the past
century brought in its train wasteful
methods, and all the accumulated de-
pOsits have been stripped away. The
annual accommodations 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 be mixed and incor-
porated-in greater or less proportion
"a variety of other substances, such
rs the eggs and bodies of birds and
the deposits and the bodies OF sea-
lions. 1t may be found mixed with
gravel and sand in very small pxD-
portion or sometimes to an extent
rendering it Improbable to extract.
Peruvian Guano Is Best
Peruvian guano' is practically
synonymous with heterogeneous guano
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 a condition most
readily assimilable by our plants.
Nitrogen is Il primary necessity to
NiiS 4
lance of adding TO the soil potash and
other mineral components of our food
and our clothing, there never exists Il
doubt as to the fundamental impor-
lance Of nitrogen. Consequently a pc
culiar interest attaches To birds of the
served TO aid the worlds agriculture
and which, given due protection, may
continue indefinitely To 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 prl-
mary requisite for bird life
is the existence of a 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 i~ncalculable quantity de-
voured by other fishes; but the
fecgndity of the anchobetaS is such
that their numbers are still maintain
ed. 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
IL support the guano industry al the
present time-the white-breast cor
morant (guanay), the big gray pelican
and the whitehead gannet.
Guanays occur N the Peruvian coast
from near the northern 10 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 -uanay tlocks are found
on the Chincha islands. Upon the
south island OF the Chinchas. a small
and generally triangular body Of land
between - and 50 acres in area, there
IS a rookery which for size and com
pactnesS can scarcely be rivaled IN
any 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 hin that Surmouni
It's low blue walls. The nests are