Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1876-08-04
LIFE At CAPE NAY,
(DIFIRRED LETTER. I

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have been disappointed as we'll as surprised
since my cojorrn here to see TO what small
extent the ocean is made to contribute to our
table supplies. Compared with like places
on the Potomac and along the Chesapeake
and its affiuents, the variety OF fish served
up at Cape May is inst gnificant, and, iudee j,
almost contemplate. Delicious saltwater
oysters we have In plenty, TO be sure. taken
every morning from their hidden be Is and
redolent OF the sea; but not lobster, a crab
or clam heve seen, nor, q fact, any OF the
Infinite variety OF the finny and shelly trlb5s
TO be seen almost any day In our markets a.
home. IL is true, the toothsome Sheepha cad
hgures pretty regularly on orr bill OF fare,
put up To this time my eyes have not been
giaddene by sight nor my palate tic xlsd
oy taste OF that excellent fish. So far as
my experience and obSer vatton go, IL is Blue
hsh, and Blue fish only. AS If asha med, how
ever, OF the meager display M ade by this ol
itary representative OF the great deep, they
call 1t here interchangably blue fish, snap
mackerel, and sometimes sea- trout. This
device apparently widens the range of sea-
food, but the disguise doesn't deceive the
palate to any great extent. The trick loses
ITS virtue, II any 1t has, at the very porch OF
the ear. And In not providing q sater
variety of fish for their tables, it seems to me
proprietOTs of sea side houses generally m axe
a serious mistake. AS rule, guests prefer
that sort of diet to what they are accustomed
TO at home, and 1t certainly ought to oe
cheaper than meats brought from distance.
ana, Dy the way,
THE PROBLEM OF FEEDING
from six hundred to a thousand people day
at single house In a place like this stu
ated as 1t is somewhat remote from both the
source and centre OF supplies, Is one not easy
TO solve. The difficulty is not so much with
the meats, which cs 4 be brought here Oh
foot and Kept alive until needed, as with the
vegetables. supply and variety of these
sufficiently large 10 meet any possible ener
nm lr alxx-ox tNa ~ a.
same time they must be served up fresh aud
crisp, with the flavor and smell OF mother
earth still upon them. or they are but q delu-
sion and a snare. What provision the other
landlords here have made to this end X now
not; but mine host of Congress Hall proves
that he "knows how to keep q hotel" by
which he owns about two miles distant. On
this place he raises ali the vegetables of
every Kind used in the hotel during tue ssa-
son, and me ne Is thus aole to meet its exact
using any stale material. As the soil here
Is generous, If once put and kept in proper
condition, and as Cape May lies as near
latitude with Washington, there is moth
Ing remarkable In this, the reader will
very likely think: Neither is there; but
particularly emphasize Ia referring to
the matter is to show how the productive
capacity OF the land Is kept up. Tnis is done
alone by utilizing and using as a fertilizer
the slops and waste OF the hotel. In most
cases, these are dumped into the water, or
LETT To tester in the sun aud poison the sur
rounding atmosphere, instead of being made
as here 10 serve and aid the economies OF
nature. No other fertilizer than this is USED
upon the land in question, aud yet Mr.. Cake
boasts that his is tue richest and most pco.
ductive little farm in all the Jerseys. / may
add that II one may jldge from the abuud
ance, variety aid quality OF its yield, there
appears TO be no good reason to DOUBT his
statement.
This experience, 1t seems to me, should not
be lost ON the people and authorities o our
populonS towns and their outlying Terri
tory. Ii the waste from single hossl WILL T..
so much In that direction, VIII 1T WON'T -,
the street sweepings, the slOps AMI thu "a :
erage of our large cities accomplish in To
way OF enrlchiIg the SOIL Of taeir surroIti
Ing country?
HoTEL.KEEPING A PRECARIoUs PURSUIT.
Depending as 1t does SO largely both upon
the weather and the caprice or fancy of the
pubic, for the time being, the business OF
hotel Keeping at summer resorts is an uu s-r.
tain and precarious pursuit AZ the very 4st.
Just now, owing to the late extremely uDs
weather, and to the fact that this Is consii.red
the time to be out OF town, the tide of Visi')rs
is setting toward Cape May very stroug; nut
let cool spell come along, or let a north
east storm set In, and it will how olt with
such deep and swift current as TO carry
nearly everything with 1t. Then the Dill
clerks and baggage porters cannot m I'VE
nimbly enough TO meet tue haste Of the de-
porting throng. ann told that as many as
two hundred and fifty guests have left Con-
gress Hall in single morning, under such
circumstances; and have myself seen the
hotels Of New York fairly packed in one day
Branch and other sea side resorts near by 20
escape the discomforts Of protracted nor
easter.
The expense OF spending q season or even
part OF season at an ordinarily popular
summering place is q matter that has OF an
and justly occupied the attention of cdR
the health and comfort OF the public. The
cost of spending even q few days at fan
iopable resort Is SO great, indeed, as TO not
only y, deter q, great many persons from In
interfere very seriously with the pleasure OF
those who on the score OF comfort or health
are tempted to venture away from the dust
and heat of the city. When one has to think
all the while of what ones enjoyment is
probably costing by the hour, the relish " IL
is materially msrred, even to persons COM
fOrtaDly of. How much keener, then, are
the prickiDgs OF constant reminder ike
this TO one who has to count out before hand
what every penny snail be made to buy3
patronage OF watering place hotels could be
prevented and a steady crowd secured the
whole season through by more moderate
question. Sixty dollars week for mole
rate, sized and inexpensively furnished third-
story room, with single window opening
toward the sea, whether occupied by one or
two persons. seems like pretty extravag ant
price to those who have to earn the money.
1t Is, indeed, a high figure, and one that com
paratively few persons eau afford to pay any
length OF time particularly when TO it are
added other unavoidable expenses. Yet land.
lords contend that nothing less will afford
fair margin of profit. on account of the ex-
tremely short season In which anything at
ali can be made, while in a cool or wet sn n
mer there is almost sure TO be actual loss.
This may be true. The interest on the large
capital invested in the real aud personal
the case of Congress Hall 1t is
estimated at over $50 900, the cost OF insur-
ance and repairs, TO say nothing OF rur atug
every year, must consume large
portion OF each summers earnings. Tle
net profits Of this hotel last year, which was
exceptionally cool and wet, were, am toll Il, |
less than 1913 900. This summer
being OF the other sort, the proprietor hopes /
to realize not less than 1000. Taking the |
average OF these two years as an Indication |
Of what will be made one year with another, |
and the profit does not seem too large, con- |
sidering the capital at stake and the risks of /
the business. suppose the history OF most /
summer hotels will show relatively far less /
satisfactory financial results than this ex !
ample, which appears to have been fortu
nate above the average OF Its class. Indeei,
believe the proprietors OF nearly all the |