A weak solution of developer should be used to start the development. Let the picture come up rather slowly, and after detail is well out take the plate from the developer, rinse in clear water, and put it in a stronger solution of developer till it has attained the right density. Examine by holding to the light, and do not depend on the image on the back of the plate as a guide to density. If the picture lacks in detail, add a few drops of bicarbonate of soda to the developer; if lacking in density, a few drops of solution of bromide of potassium should be used.
Fog, which one would naturally suppose would obscure or deaden the light, has instead great illuminating power. Instantaneous pictures taken on a foggy day are often the most beautiful of waterscapes.
A good rule when taking pictures at the sea-shore is to use a small stop, and the quickest exposure of the shutter provided with the hand camera.
Remember that the light is more than double the strength on the sea than on the land, and that the water reflects the light instead of absorbing it.
Sir Knight Raymond J. Spooner would like to know how to mount prints on paper so that they will lie smooth. He intends to use drawing-paper 8 x 10 for 4 x 5 prints and then have them bound. Make a rather thin paste of laundry starch. Soak the prints in water for a few minutes, and then lay them one by one face down on some hard smooth surface, like a pane of glass or the bottom of a porcelain toning-tray. Blot each one as it is taken out of the water, removing all the superfluous moisture. Have the sheet of drawing-paper ready, and moisten the place where the print is to be placed very slightly with a damp sponge. Paste the back of the print, using only enough paste to cover it, lift the corner with the point of a knife, and lay it pasted side down on the mount. Lay a piece of tissue-paper over the face of the mount and roll the print smooth with a squeegee. A smooth glass bottle can be used if one has no squeegee, or a new wooden rolling-pin answers every purpose. Lay the print when mounted between two pieces of clean blotting-paper and put a weight on it; as the prints are mounted they can be laid one on top of the other with blotting-paper between. Be very careful that no paste is on the face of the print. The object in moistening the mount is that the print may not make it shrink; drawing-paper, being lighter weight than a card-mount, is apt to do this unless it is first moistened as directed.
Answers to Queries.—Sir Knight A. Smith wishes to know what will keep films from curling when in the developer The films should be soaked in water till they become limp before they are placed in the developer. To keep them from curling after development they should be placed before drying in a solution of glycerine and water, composed of glycerine ¼ oz., water 8 oz.
FALSE ECONOMY
is practised by people who buy inferior articles of food. The Gail Borden Eagle Brand Condensed Milk is the best infant food. Infant Health is the title of a valuable pamphlet for mothers. Sent free by New York Condensed Milk Co., New York.—[Adv.]