May, 1881.
THE WEST SHORE.
THE MALE SEAL.
The illattrmtioa preceded oa thii peg, a
mala teal, it taken from Cent, flmmitiiw'i "Me
Tin Mammal of tht Paoiflo Coaat," of a full
gad mil, mi individual of balk and itrength,
and of a urly xproteiou. Tbee old male era
oroel, detpotio wratohea, and tha aooonnt of
their;deoda at laid down by 8oammon leaU on
to anything bat admiration of them. They
light mercUeeely for poiitiooi on tha rookerioe,
and they ara alio moat ernel to their female
companion!. It ii no uootaal oooarrenoa in tha
bight of tha aaaaon to aaa two full-grown malea
flgnt by tha hoar, exhibiting maoh taot in their
auaulta upon aaob other, both endeavoring to
gain advantage by tome adroit movement at
tinwa making a eavaga look with their montha,
or nailing each other by the fore flipper, or
gaining neoka and bodiaa with their eharp, tuak-
viewing hie family, toolding thoee wivee which
crowd or diitnrb the othera and fteroely driving
off tha other. Thia enrveillanoe keep him
eotivaly ooenpied. In two or thru daye a'r
landing on tha rookery tha young arale appear,
weighing about lix poumla aaob. Tha young
Mali ara vary vigoroua and aoon begm nuraing.
The mother maoifeeta atrong affection for her
young.
N1TRATK OF 80DA.
The diaoovery of nitrate of aoila near Rrowa'a
tation, Nov., may lead to rcaulta vaatly im
portant to the racilio ilope and to tha oountry
at large. Thia valuable aalt baa been found in
extenaive bade only in tha proviooe of Tarapaea,
among tha billa which akirt tha ooaat of l'eru.
Thete beda extend over a territory of 150 miloa.
Tha hill are oovared with a light, aandy marl,
fuL The" teat la aimpla and edmUeible of no
muteka. Tha (uapeoted oryatal or aalt ahould
be reduoad to a powder, and intimately mixed
with an fjnM proportion ' cluiooj. ZIU,
when plaoad upon a heated iron, a rati hot
ahovel for inatanoa, will deflagrate will flaah
like powder tha Are running from grata to
grain in a aimilar manner, Tha compound la
inwder minua aulphur. Where it ia luapeoted
that the earth ia atrongly impregnated with tha
nitrate, take a kettle and nil it two-thirda full
of tha earth and tha remainder with water,
Heat it, etirring tha while, and when thoroughly
mixed and heated, eo that the water will nave
beoomeaatn rated with the aalt allow th eolation
to aettle. Tha liquid poured olf, tha mud will
onntein the aalt, which ia atcnrad by evapora
tion. The oryatal la then teated aa before. Tha
teal ia aociirato, and may be applied by any
one without apparatus
A good nitrate mine ia mora valuable than
!K If.
It rl- -V,
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wm
like teeth. Bonwtimea eeveral old mala ara
tea together oa a eeparate beooh, who ara oat
in ovary direction, and apparently had retired
from tha maim hard, being unable to oootlnne
the fight ia oonaeqoeno of wound received.
Tha old mala maintain a rigid enpremary
over the young mala. The old one are called
by tha aattvee, axarwU (married aaala). Tbaee
weloowM to female oa their arrival, and watch
over aad protect them and their young until
the Utter ara larg enough to be Mt to tha
oara of their mother and the young male.
The male andar aix year old ara not able to
mtini a plao oa th rookery, or keep a
harem, and they ara called koUiuekuck (bach,
lore).
The old maUt Brat appear upoa tba rookaria
ia th pairing aaaaoa, and taking their place
' prevent th young male from landing. Too
they compel the either to atey ia tha water or
go to th apUad above, la locating oa the
rookery each aid mate raearve a little mora
thaa naara rod of apao for kiaualf and kia
10 or 15wira. Waea th apao all filled
the old male walk around omploautly ro
THE MALE ARAL.
mixed with minute fragment of ahell. Whan
thia covering yielda and oraoklee beneath the
feet, it indicate the preaeoocof nitrate of aola.
On digging a foot or two the aalt ia found, over
laid naoally by a etratum of oommoa aalt.
Portion of thia nitrate of od ara of a pur
aogar-lika whiteneaa. other port loo being eol
ored reddiah brown, Umoo yellow anil gray. A
large portion of the provincial find employ
ment ia extracting and refining the aalt, which
i ahippad from liiuino. In IH37 th export
too) aggregated 1W.UU0 quintal, Koglaad con
tain ing two-third and Kraao one-third. Th
nitrate mine hare long been th chief wealth
of that taction of th oountry, and their im
portance can well be imagined, when it ia re
membered that th I'ern-Chilaaa war grew out
of diepota over the reveonea of Innee tUlde.
80m time ego th Hlate Mineralogial of Cal
ifornia. Mr. Hank, received aamplaaof T"Ul
iaad nitrate of aoda from this onaty. Tael
prove the aalt to b of good quality and exottd
iogly valnabU Mr. Ilaak adrieee proepeotiag
Ith deeert refiona, where ewteaoee of voloaua
'actio are preeent, or where alkalia ara pUoti-
gold mine The enet nf extracting th aalt at
Tarapaea, where It la principally aooorad by th
prooaaa of liiivatioa abov deaoribed, I a f oi.
own lUckooiog for each 100 lb., labor to aet
dowa at 01 eeolei fuel, SH ent tool and now
iter whan blotting I moaaaary, 13 ato bran.
porUtiua to Iquique, 7ft 00 te, a total of about
II. H7.
In quantity, tha aalt atll for about H th
hundred l. Th profit I apparent, Thoaea
to which nitrate of aoda i pat ara aumarana,
ItiieubaUlutodfornilrateof poteah mlpm
to which it I eloaaly allied, la pranrviag ataaa
at ia oaring heme, pickling pork and eom4
beef, th manufaotur of aitri acid aad varia
other purpoeea. Owing to Ha dellnqaimnt
pmpertiaa, It ha not beea employed ia to aaaa
ufaotura of gun powder, allhoo.h it I not
known but ia eom vartetia ef eiploaiv It
might be employed, if indeed It I aot already.
Careful eaaroh ova tha region give over to
arid plain and lav beda may rwralt la lb die).
ovary of hitherto aaaepeotod aiiaatut wealth.
Till Voaamite valley I bow Open to tonrlvt.