Then the attention of the world was directed to the mainland of Peru and
Chile, where similar guano deposits had been accumulated and, not being
washed away on account of the lack of rain, had been deposited as sodium
nitrate, or "saltpeter." These beds were discovered by a German, Taddeo
Haenke, in 1809, but it was not until the last quarter of the century
that the nitrates came into common use as a fertilizer. Since then more
than 53,000,000 tons have been taken out of these beds and the
exportation has risen to a rate of 2,500,000 to 3,000,000 tons a year.
How much longer they will last is a matter of opinion and opinion is
largely influenced by whether you have your money invested in Chilean
nitrate stock or in one of the new synthetic processes for making
nitrates. The United States Department of Agriculture says the nitrate
beds will be exhausted in a few years. On the other hand the Chilean
Inspector General of Nitrate Deposits in his latest official report says
that they will last for two hundred years at the present rate and that
then there are incalculable areas of low grade deposits, containing less
than eleven per cent.
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