IN THE DEPTHS 



65 



bordering waters. This intimates that the 

 water itself has some property or quality pe- 

 culiarly its own which gives it local coloring. 

 What is this property? 



Particles floating in water have, no doubt, 

 the power of producing a color effect upon the 

 water itself. The fine hue of the Ehone is 

 caused by the granite and mica grains that it 

 bears with it to the sea, and for many years 

 this river was supposed to lend its coloring to 

 the Mediterranean and make that sea blue. 

 But the Mediterranean has other particles in its 

 waters that are equally efficacious in producing 

 color. The chief of these is salt. The salt 

 particle, because of its minuteness and its af- 

 finity as regards size, has the faculty of inter- 

 rupting, checking, refracting, reflecting, the 

 small blue ray of the sunbeam. It does this so 

 effectively that, when seen in great mass, the 

 particles apparently reflect from the sea depths 

 a color not unlike the blue sky itself. It is 

 then that we behold " the deep blue sea." That 

 the sunlight and blue sky are contributory 

 causes of the blue sea we may be sure, for the 

 blue largely disappears with the sun and sky. 

 The bluest of seas when under storm clouds with 

 wind will show gray-green in every curling 

 wave; and wherever the wave breaks on the 



The Gull 



Stream 



coloring. 



Local color 

 of water; 

 how pro- 

 duced. 



The salt 

 particle. 



