Note 54 — APPENDIX

This earth or “huano,” as the translator has been informed, is an article of commerce at the port of Ilo; whence it is conveyed to the neighbourhood of Arica, the Vale of Tambo, and Arequipa, and sold at so much per quintal. When rubbed between the fingers, it emits an insufferable stench. Tithes are paid upon this valuable manure, which are always put to one side in a heap, and, like the rest, carried away on asses. At Huacho, to the north of Lima, birds’ ordure abounds, and is, we believe, used as manure. But, in general, the soil in Peru receives no top-dressing; though about Arequipa, in particular, the agricultural industry of the ancient Indians has always been followed by their successors, who, by means of the huano, compel the same piece of ground to yield several crops annually.