Bill Bryson: In the 1830s, the Miracle Product the World Had Been Waiting for Arrived: Guano
Bill Bryson, British-American author and journalist
[Scroll down for the English]
KISWAHILI
"Kisha, katika miaka ya 1830, papo hapo ikaja bidhaa ya muujiza ambao ulimwengu ulikuwa ukingojea: guano [mavi ya ndege wa baharini yatumikayo kama mbolea]. Guano—kinyesi cha ndege—ilikuwa ikitumiwa nchini Peru tangu wakati wa Incas, na ufanisi wake ulikuwa umetajwa na wavumbuzi na wasafiri tangu wakati huo, lakini haikuwa hadi sasa kwamba mtu yeyote alifikiria kukichota na kuiweka kwenye mifuko na kuwauzia wakulima nje ya nchi. Wakati watu wa nje walipojifunza juu ya guano, hawakuweza kupata ya kutosha. Mpako wa guano mashambani uliyotia nguvu tena na uliongeza mavuno kwa hadi asilimia ya 300. Ulimwengu ulikamatwa na kile kilichokuja kujulikana kama ‘guano mania.’ Guano ilifaa sana kwa sababu ilikuwa imejaa na naitrojeni, fosforasi na naitreti ya potasiamu….”
- Bill Bryson, mwandishi wa Uingereza-Marekani na mwanahabari anayejulikana kwa uandishi wake wa maarifa yenye ukweli kuhusu sayansi, historia, na lugha ya Kiingereza.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
“Then, in the 1830s, there suddenly came the miracle product the world had been waiting for: guano. Guano—bird droppings—had been used in Peru since the time of the Incas, and its efficacy had been remarked on by explorers and travelers ever since, but it wasn’t until now that anyone thought to scoop it into bags and sell it to desperate farmers in the northern hemisphere. Once outsiders discovered guano, however, they couldn’t get enough of it. A dressing of guano reenergized fields and increased crop yields by up to 300 percent. The world was seized with what came to be known as “guano mania.” Guano worked because it was packed with nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium nitrate….”
- Bill Bryson, British-American author and journalist known for his insightful non-fiction writing on science, history, and the English language.
Chanzo (source): Bryson, Bill. At Home: A Short History of Private Life. New York: Doubleday, 2010, page 280.