A plate that has been developed too long will be found dark all over, and it will take a long time to make a print from it. A print made from a very dense negative fades out quickly in the toning solution, and must be printed deeper than one made from a good negative, in order to get a good picture. An over-developed negative may be reduced so as to make a fine negative. There are many formulas for reducing solutions, but the one considered the most reliable is called "Farmer's Reducer," the formula for which is as follows:
| Water | 4 | oz. |
| Hypo | 30 | grs. |
| Potassium ferridcyanide | 3 | grs. |
This solution must be made up just before using. Place the negative while wet in the tray and cover it with the solution. Rock the tray all the time, and look at the negative frequently to see if the reduction has been carried far enough. A convenient way of handling the plate during the process is to put it into a plate-lifter, immerse it in the solution for a minute or two, lift out and rinse, and if the reduction has not been carried far enough return it again to the solution. Care must be taken that the picture is not reduced too much.
When the negative is dense in the high lights and without detail in the shadows, it indicates that the plate was under-exposed. Where the subject is one which cannot be obtained again, the negative may be treated according to directions given recently in one of the papers on retouching; but if the picture can be repeated, it is not worth while to spend time on a poor negative.
A negative which shows clear glass in the corners is due to the lens being too small for the plate, and does not fully cover it.
Fogged negatives are caused in several ways. If the edges of the plate which come under the protector in the plate-holder are clear, and the rest of the plate is fogged, the fog is caused by light entering the camera, or by over-exposure of the plate. If there are streaks across the plate, it is due to a small hole in the camera or to the rays of the sun striking the lens during exposure. A plate which has been fogged by the sun may be reduced by drying the plate and then taking a clean piece of chamois, dipping it in alcohol, and rubbing the fogged spots gently and evenly. Do this very carefully, touching only the places that are fogged. Dense high lights may also be reduced by rubbing the places with alcohol, this process bringing out the details which are lost in the development.
Frederick Montgomery, 2421 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, D. C.; T. Parker Hall, Taunton, Mass.; Hubert Burnham, 232 Dempster St., Evanston, Ill.; John H. Ashum, 1404 State St., Eau Claire, Wis.; Elizur Smith, P. O. Box 436, Lee, Mass.; Ralph B. Leonard, 98 Green St., Cumberland, Md.; Floyd W. Giles, 49 Columbia Ave., Cumberland, Md.; T. K. Wellington, 33 Walnut Place, Eighth St., Troy, N. Y.; Stanley Symmes, 630 Harrison St., San Francisco, Cal.; Hall M. Crossman, Steelton, Pa.; Roxley F. Weber, Salamanca, N. Y.; Bronson M. Warren, Bridgeport, Conn.; Wilbur T. Helm, 15 W. Biddle St., Baltimore, Md.—wish to become members of the Camera Club.