http://nationalregister.sc.gov...
quote:
The mass production of fertilizers did not occur in the United States until the mid-nineteenth
century. It was in 1830 that the first bone mills were established in this country. Animals such as
large bison were killed in drives on the western plains and were processed in bone mills, creating
plant food for use on domestic crops. About the same time, the German explorer Humboldt
introduced phosphoratic Peruvian guano to Europe after a mapping expedition in South America.
Guano was introduced to America in 1832, and by the 1840s to1850s, guano became a highly
profitable import from Peru. Guano’s use as a plant fertilizer had been known for centuries. Inca
populations (ca. 2000 BC to 1300 AD) of South America had exploited the phosphate-rich guano
from the Chincha islands off the coast of Peru. Guano is a combination of fossilized bones of
ancient birds and fish, mixed with bird excrement and formed over millions of years. Guano offers
a very rich fertilizer that is high in elements that are essential for proper plant growth such as
nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium sulfur, sodium, chloride, magnesium, silicon, iron, and
manganese. While it is a powerful fertilizer, Guano unfortunately produces extremely strong odors,
limiting its utility for large-scale usage (O’Connor 2000).
Some nineteenth century planters, faced with the challenges of soil exhaustion, began
seeking new alternatives. As early as 1832, Edmund Ruffin, who was seeking a means to increase
production and fertilize his own plantations in Virginia, advocated marling for agricultural crops
including corn, cotton and potatoes. Ruffin contended that the rich carbonate of lime found in marls
could be a source of plant fertilizer; phosphates, however, he believed useless for the task. Other
planters began experimenting with phosphate fertilizers by the 1840s (Mathew 1992, Stephens 1988).
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