This manufacture was first started, and is still most largely practised, in Norway. The guano obtained varies very considerably in quality according to the nature of the process employed, and as to whether the guano is made from whole fish or merely from fish-offal. The latter source is the common one. The manufacture is carried on at the fish-curing stations, and the quality of the guano made from this source is somewhat different from that made from whole fish, as a large proportion of the fish-offal is made up of bones and heads. Large quantities of Norwegian fish-guano are exported to various parts of Europe.
The best quality of this guano may contain as much as 10 per cent of nitrogen, but as a rule it is nearer 8 per cent. A very considerable variation in the amount of phosphoric acid occurs for the reason above stated, the guano made from fish-scrap being naturally much richer in this ingredient than whole-fish guano. The phosphoric acid may be said to range from 4 to 15 per cent, and there is also a small quantity of potash present.
Guano is also manufactured in Norway from the carcasses of whales. Such guano contains from 7-1/2 to 8-1/2 per cent of nitrogen, and about 13-1/2 per cent of phosphoric acid.
In America fish-guano is manufactured to a considerable extent—one important source being the menhaddo, a coarse sort of herring. This fish is caught for the sake of its oil, which is extracted by boiling, the residue being manufactured, after pressing and drying, into guano.
In this country the manufacture of fish-guano is carried out to a considerable and increasing extent. Formerly it was imported from Norway to a larger extent than is now the case, the present annual imports amounting only to 1000 or 2000 tons. The total annual production in the United Kingdom is probably 7000 or 8000 tons.
Value of "Fish-Guano."
That fish-guano is a valuable manure there can be no doubt. What, however, impairs its value is the fact that, as a rule, it contains a certain amount of oil. The effect of this oil is to retard fermentation and decomposition when the guano is applied to the soil, and thus render its action slower than would otherwise be the case.
When applied to the soil, therefore, every opportunity ought to be given to promote its fermentation. It is best applied some time before it is likely to be used. It ought to be well mixed with the soil-particles, and not allowed to lie on the top of the soil. Its best effect will be on light well-cultivated soils, which permit of the access both of sufficient moisture and of sufficient air for rapid fermentation. Its value as a manure for hops, vines, grass, and strawberries has been found to be considerable. It has been recommended to be applied along with farmyard manure; and such a mode of application is no doubt well suited to promote its decomposition. It has also been used for mixing with superphosphate of lime. Professor Storer has advocated a more general use of fish as a manure than is at present the case. He suggests that even fish not suitable for edible purposes might be caught for the purpose of conversion into manure. The difficulty of preserving fish, however, is considerable; and he suggests the use of potash salts, such as muriate of potash, or lime for this purpose. The benefit of using potash would be twofold. In addition to acting as a preservative, it would considerably enhance the value of the resulting guano as a manure. There is much truth in Professor Storer's views; and no doubt, as our sources of artificial nitrogenous manures grow more limited, the manufacture of fish-guano will be carried on in the future on a larger and more systematic scale than hitherto.
What is called "meat-meal guano" is generally that made from the refuse of the carcasses of cattle after they have been treated for their meat-extract according to Liebig's process. The meat-meal is used both for feeding and manurial purposes. Considerable quantities[199] of this guano are imported annually into this country from South America, Queensland, and New Zealand,—that coming from Frey Bentos, in Uruguay, being best known. It is a valuable manure, especially so for its nitrogen, which varies from 4 to 8 per cent, while it contains of phosphoric acid from 13 to 20 per cent. Some meat-meal guanos contain as much nitrogen as 11 per cent.