3 ms·
I always though the guano was desired for saltpeter, which is used to make gunpowder. It doesn't seem economical to transport as fertilizer.
by pirate787 4y ago
I always though the guano was desired for saltpeter, which is used to make gunpowder. It doesn't seem economical to transport as fertilizer.
- comicjk 4y agoI thought so too, but Wiki says fertilizer was in fact the main usage. I suppose you get many extra units of grain per unit of added guano. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guano https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guano "As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer . . . Guano was also, to a lesser extent, sought for the production of gunpowder and other explosive materials. The 19th-century guano trade played a pivotal role in the development of modern input-intensive farming."
- chasil 4y agoChicago should build new designs of these around Millennium Park, and maybe reduce their strife with what is both native wildlife and a productive resource. They really can't stand pigeons. Hopefully the snake population is low.
- jhgb 4y agoYou need only nitrogen for explosives, but nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium for fertilizer. Therefore guano (which contains all three) is overkill for explosives but great as a fertilizer, while synthetic nitrogen compounds are insufficient as a "complete" fertilizer and have to be supplemented with the two other elements from other sources.
- Jistern 4y agoWell argued!
- benj111 4y agoIn a world without synthetic fertilisers, and where farming is economically important you'd be willing to go to quite some lengths to get fertiliser.