'Twas night on the nursery battle-field, and as the sun went down
The Wooden soldiers fell back to their camp at Book-case Town,
While General Zinc, the leader of the forces of the Tin,
Put up a stone-block fortress, and he led his army in.
"To-morrow, men," cried General Zinc, "we'll thwack 'em hip and thigh—
We'll conquer all these rebels, and we'll hang their leaders high.
'Twill never be these men of wood shall rout us men of lead—
A notion, O my soldiers brave, to hold fast in your head.
"I've just received from the government some sixty-seven puns
Of the hardest pease you ever saw, with which to load our guns;
And the havoc wrought by a small dried pea on a Wooden soldier's breast
Is known right well, at least to me, and I think to all the rest.
"So sleep to-night, and at beat of drum to-morrow at the dawn,
Our cannon, loaded to the nose, 'fore the enemy will be drawn;
And when these rebels march out from their camp at Book-case Town
We'll snap our cannon at 'em, and the pease will mow 'em down."
But alas for the plan of General Zinc! that night, while his forces slept,
A spy from the native Wooden force up over the ramparts crept—
Crept up to the heap of hard dried pease, and ere the night was done
Had dumped them into a cauldron hot, and boiled them every one.
So that when the guns of General Zinc were trained on the enemy's town,
The Wood men roared with laughter, and it made the General frown.
"We'll make 'em laugh in another way. Aim low and destroy their walls!"
He roared, "One—two—three—Fire!!! Let fly all our cannon-balls!"
And the gunners snapped their cannon, and the pea balls straightway flew,
But, woe for poor old General Zinc, tin warrior tried and true!
The havoc that he'd hoped to wreak was naught, and his plot was foiled,
For his cannon-balls were as soft as mush—as dried pease are when boiled.
And that was the way, my little son, the patriot men of Wood
Their reckless, ruthless foreign foes long years ago withstood,
And that is why in old Book-case Town to-day you're sure to see
The glorious flag of the Wooden folk a-waving proud and free.
Carlyle Smith.
Any questions in regard to photograph matters will be willingly answered by the Editor of this column, and we should be glad to hear from any of our club who can make helpful suggestions.
Owing to the number of questions, we devote the entire Department to answers this week.
Sir Knight Max Miner, Charlemont, Mass., in reply to notice from one of our members asking what kind of a camera was used for the picture called "Sweeping a Sliding-Place," published in this column, says: "I used the Rochester Optical Co.'s 'Universal' 5 by 7, and a Morrison R.R. lens, 8½ in. focus, designed for a 6½ by 8½ plate." Sir Max says he has the best success in developing with pyro-potash or soda—though he likes the two solution eikonogen nearly as well. He says he never has trouble with pyro stains, as he uses an alum bath before fixing. Sir Max also adds that he has taken $54 in prizes.
Sir Knight John W. Soule asks what is meant by red prussiate of potash. The druggist, he says, does not know what it is, but he has something else with the same name, only it is yellow. Read reply given to Sir Knight Hugo Kretschmar in No. 879 for the difference between red and yellow prussiate of potash. Druggists do not usually keep red prussiate of potash. The red prussiate of potash is known as ferricyanide of potassium, and the yellow as ferrocyanide of potassium. The yellow produces a negative from a negative, and the red produces a positive from a negative. Sir John asks what is meant by "hypo" in formula for toning solution. Hypo is the general term used by photographers for hyposulphite of soda.
Lady Nellie J. Wilder, Mass., says that she would like a camera costing only $5, and asks what style could be purchased for that sum. There are several makes of cameras which can be purchased from $3 to $5. The Pocket Kodak is a very good camera, but the pictures are quite small. The "Quad" makes a good-sized picture for a small camera, the pictures being about three inches square.
Sir Knight Wills G. Waldo, of Michigan, says that there is a black streak across his negatives about two inches long, and wishes to know if it is a defect in his camera or in the films. He says it has happened in every roll of films which he has bought. The defect would seem to be in the lens or camera and not in the film. Have the lens examined by some photographer, and if it is all right, examine the box for a leak in the bellows.
Sir Knight William H. White, Jun., asks for a formula for toning solio-paper, a formula for developer for kodak films, and a formula for washing trays. The following is the formula given by the manufacturers of solio-paper for making a combined bath:
STOCK SOLUTION "A."
Hyposulphite of soda 8 oz. Alum (crystals) 6 oz. Granulated sugar 2 oz. Water 80 oz. When this is dissolved, add borax, 2 oz., dissolved in 8 oz. of hot water. Let it stand overnight, and turn off the clear liquid into a clean bottle, and mark "A."
STOCK SOLUTION "B."
Chloride of gold 7½ grs. Acetate of lead (sugar of lead) 64 grs. Water 8 oz. Mark bottle "B," and shake before using. To mix for toning solution, take 8 oz. of solution "A" and 1 oz. of solution "B." Place the prints in this solution without washing. Tone to desired color, and wash for an hour in running water. For developing formula see No. 862 (February 25, 1896). Clean trays with a little nitric or sulphuric acid in water.
Sir Knight P. Hosmer says that he has trouble in developing, as the film washes off from the plate in the washing water, and wishes to know the reason and remedy. The reason of the film softening is because the water is too warm, owing probably to the extreme heat of the past few weeks. Use alum in the fixing bath to harden the films, and instead of washing the plates in running water, place them in a dish of water in which put a small piece of ice not enough to make the water ice cold, but to lower the temperature to about 50°. Leave them in the water an hour, changing it two or three times, and the films will not frill or leave the plate.
Sir Knight John Mills wishes to know the number of the Round Table containing a formula for printing-out paper. Formulas for plain paper will be found in Nos. 796 and 803 (January 22 and March 19, 1895). A formula for blue-print paper will be found in Nos. 797, 823, and 828. See also No. 869.
Sir Knight A. P. Lazarus asks when the next competition will take place, how to take pictures of insects and make them appear sharp and of good size, and a formula for making blue-print paper. A photographic contest will probably be conducted some time this fall. Announcements will be made through the Camera Club. To take photographs of insects and have them at least two-thirds size one should use a copying camera. A copying camera has a long bellows and a lens specially adapted for making pictures at short range. Formulas for blue-print paper will be found in Nos. 797, 823, and 828.
Sir Knight E. A. Stabler asks if bicarbonate of potash could be used in place of carbonate of potash, which the formula for developer calls for. In Professor Mason's table showing the comparative value of alkaline carbonates in developers, he says that equal work is done by 165 parts of carbonate of potassa, and 200 parts of bicarbonate of potassa. If the developer formula calls for 1 oz. carbonate of potassa, 1 oz. of bicarbonate of potassa could be substituted for the carbonate of potassa. It is better to use the carbonate of potassa if it can be obtained.
Sir Knight Frank F. Smith, P.O. Box 239, Cumberland, Md., asks to have a notice in the Camera Club that he would like to exchange some books on photography and electricity for a Pocket Kodak. He also wishes to know of some corresponding photographic chapter of the Round Table. Niepce Chapter, of which Arthur F. Atkinson, 1711 I Street, Sacramento, Cal., is the president. Sir Knight John Chamberlain, 6 Franklin Avenue, Dayton, O., wishes to form a chapter.
Sir Knight A. Smith, 3 East State Street, Trenton, N. J., asks if boiled or filtered water answers the same purpose for photography; how to make photographs on watch crystals; and would like to correspond with any member owning a 4 by 5 camera, a Pocket Kodak, or a Quad Camera. The water should be filtered in order to remove the impurities, but it is not necessary to boil it. For all ordinary purposes the simple filtering of the water will be sufficient, but for delicate operations the distilled water must be used. See No. 840 for method of making transferrotypes. Pictures may be transferred to watch crystals by the process there described.
| Hyposulphite of soda | 8 | oz. |
| Alum (crystals) | 6 | oz. |
| Granulated sugar | 2 | oz. |
| Water | 80 | oz. |
| Chloride of gold | 7½ | grs. |
| Acetate of lead (sugar of lead) | 64 | grs. |
| Water | 8 | oz. |