Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1891-02-20
ssBy the Blue Sea-,

wished (having lived inland most of my
days save some trips on Long Island sound
dating far back and all along) to know for
myself how to paint it. France, Holland,
England do not paint it alike. The char
acteristics of their own coasts impress them
and get into their pictures forms and col
ors ever varying. They each give different
cloud scenes and coast and wave scenes;
the fishing craft differ, also the costumes
of their owners and workers. q
A man on a steamboat going down Con-
necticut river into the Long leland sound
spoke of it as 'smud hole" Now I like
the sound, although its waters are some
what impregnated with loose soil from the
rivers; They are certainly not as clear and
as clean and as ready to perfectly mirror
the sky as other waters amid different for
nations, but there are good pictures to be
had along the same Long Island sound.
But well I know that the sea, meaning
the ocean, can be painted as dark as deep
indigo bll = and as light as a porcelain
plate, according to the place one is at, the
time of day, position of the sun, and
whether you are looking north or east, or
south or west. In general we will say
that it is "blue," looking on it far dis
tances, because it takes it's color from the
Whatever mists and clouds come in,
change its color very fast according to
their quantity or quality. But seen from
vessel somewhat clouded in, there is q.
certain dark sea green which some artists
like very much, broken by a pale pea
green and white foam for the breaking
waves. It is very restful color, and like
Richards for his truthfulness in painting
it.
The memory of fine painting of the
Dover cliffs and sea, recalls similar color
ing BY an English artist. At Nantucket
one can get most valuable colors not only
from the ocean, but from the sound, if he
will 60 out to the sand cliffs west Of the
old city. In asking why those waters
looked so variable, yellow, green, deep
green, blue and violet at the same time in
the same direction of sight over them, I
was told that the different depths, made
the difference in the color. Such charm
ing intermingling, would defy an artist to
remember, and almost to get approx
mately, 80 firm and beautiful we're the tints.
Only clean yellow white sand under those
waters, and sea weeds; that is the way it is off
there along the north coast of Nantucket.
A curious sight occurred one clear day at
Sconset. Looking due east on the broad
ocean mist appeared as cloud very far
away oA Guo I1ShO Slu0 VI Uuc uu0 VI flSlOA
| 1t came directly and steadily towards us,
obscuring all the sea under it, while the
| sky and the sea north of that line was still
bright and blue and fair, even to the far
horizon. Before many minutes it was
near US, crossed the line in slant north
ward, shut out Sankaty from sight and
everything else, saw things near us. That
is how the fogs march in from the Gulf
stream sometimes. Now what can
a lighthouse do for vessels in
such fog>as that, and knew that even
Sankaty light is quite dim in fog at night
to one at Sconset, less than two miles dis
tant. Many of them do have their sirens,
fog horns Or fog whistles. They are not
ali alike. Sankaty has hers or should have,
think. So has 9. G. Highland light. So
has Petit Manan, about which something
to be said hereafter. But ''The Blue Sea-
is green sea and bright sea and dark
sea by turns and much else besides Be-
cause have seen it as few amateurs have
a chance to see it along the Maine coast,
perhaps some Of your readers would like
| to go with me in mind, and know Just how
it was.
Before we get away SO far, 1 beg room to
say that the return trip from Nantucket
back to Vineyard Haven and over tc
Woods Holl is charming sail of bright
/
rough under good breeze, you may like
myself enjoy it all the more. Its pity
the channel into Nantucket harbor, where
| whalers once came with numerous cargoes
is now filed up with SO much sand. But
the pilots are good and the lights sci
there along at night and stakes and buoyi
by day, tell them how to go. Again yor
meet the coastwise craft and in a fail
wind they go winged" like sea gulls
full canvas on, en- route to Boston, tt
Maine, to New Brunswick and Nov,
Scotia. The mail steamer is very stauncl
and seldom if ever fails to make he1
trips-down one day, back the next Those
Eastern Channel waters are the outlet OF
inlet of Long Island sound as regards thu
coastwise trade, and sail vessels coastine
are very glad to take an inside route.
At Woods Holl the steamer stops and il
soon away to New Bedford, another noted
harbor for the old-time whalers. But
took the Old Colony railroad and went W
to Truro, because 1 had expressed my
trunk there from Hartford, and wanted t.
see it again. Having read that the High
lands was good resort for persons
troubled with hay fever that was my desti
nation. I found much relief at Nantucke
in the pure ocean breezes. At Truro wat
on the bay and not ocean side, and found
the old trouble with attendant asthma re-
curing; and, after short stay, got owe,
northeast some six or seven miles to the
Highlands and was better again. One is
impressed in going up Cape Cod with the
comparative poverty of vegetation chiefly
birch trees, more pine trees-a sort ft fol
little else than fuel, light, etc.
The Cranberry marshes interested me
on some part of the route. The industry
connected Herewith is methodical, sys.
l H. L. e. r
| might be applied successfully and profit
ably on the salt meadows up Quinnipiac
river Of course, there would have to be
dyking and suitable arrangements for
flooding and shutting off water. At all
events, with little practical knowledge
therein if I owned some of those meadows
and had the requisite capital, I should wish
to find out what else would grow there
more proftably than salt hay. 1t does
seem as if the combined opportunity OF
fresh or salt water might be turned to
better account.
One saw these cranberry plants from
| the cars, laid out as nice as a strawberry
| bed, and the young plants and the older
plants, not side by side nor far apart, and
people working along the rows, low down
to keep out the weeds. I would like to
have got off and found out all about it,
being from boyhood used to horticulture
| as recreation.
On Massachusetts bay side at Truro, ]
came in my shore rambles upon the skele-
| tons of some 'Black Fish" which by the
vertebrae and all remaining were evidently
ten feet or more in lenghth. 1 brought
home several vertebrae as curios. Tn
near the Highland one saw great piles of the
head bones, much larger than of oxen skulls,
collected to be used for lime fertilizers, or
phosphate, on those few sandy farms.
From Highland light across to North Truro
is a nice walk of a mile, by good path OF
road not much travelled because there are
not many people to travel it except in
summer. Excursions do bring small
crowds at times, but they are soon away
North Truro is railroad station, and the
place to go to reach the Highlands. Some
few houses are there, mostly fshermen's
who set nets miles out in Massachusetts
bay and take many blue6sh and others in
their fast nets, which are visited daily by
the men in dories. They use small
sail to expedite their trips. The
one I fell in with for conversation
was very agreeable and entertaining, and
gave me all the information asked for; was
a God-fearing man, and took comfort in
the idea of divine care over him in his
business, one not free from dangers. Once
returning from the nets, he fell off the