April 9. 1853.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



363 



by the hand of Lainech, painted by Pietre da 

 Orvieto about 1390. In one corner of the fresco, 

 <;;aiu is depicted as a wild and shaggy figure, 

 crouched in a thicket, at which Lamech, at the 

 ■suggestion of his guide, shoots an arrow. Below, 

 the homicide is represented as murdering the cause 

 of his error by blows on the head inflicted with his 

 bow. Cheverells. 



The following note upon the name of Lamech 

 may perhaps serve to throw a little light upon the 

 difficult passage in Genesis iv. 23, 24. — Lamech, in 

 Celtic Lamaich, or Laimaig, means a sllnger of 

 stones ; and Lamech being dextrous in the use of 

 that weapon the sling, wantonly slew two young 

 men, and boasted of the bloody deed to his two 

 wives, Adah and Zillah, blasphemously maintain- 

 iing that as Cain for one murder should be avenged 

 sevenfold, so he, for his wanton act, would be 

 avenged seventy and seven fold upon whoever 

 should slay him. It may be considered strange 

 that the name of Lamech should be Celtic, and 

 that it should signify a slinger ; but I am 

 strengthened in my opinion by reference to the 

 Hebrew alphabet, in which the letter I is called 

 lamed; but why it is so named the Hebrews can- 

 not say. Now, if any one examines the Hebrew 

 ^ he will perceive that it is by no means a rude 

 representation of a human arm, holding a sling 

 •with a stone in it. The word Lamech is derived 

 from lam, the hand ; and the termination signifies 

 dexterity in shooting or discharging missiles there- 

 with. 



It is curious to notice that the remaining names 

 in the passage of Scripture are Celtic : thus Cain 

 is compounded of cend, first, and gein, offspring, — 

 pronounced Kayean, i. e. first begotten. Adah 

 means a fair complexioned, red-haii-ed woman ; and 

 Zillah, peace, fi'om siotlad, pronounced shieta. 



Fkancis Crossxey. 



PHOTOGRAPHIC NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Photographic Notes. — G. H. P. has communi- 

 cated (Vol. vii., p. 186.) a very excellent paper in 

 reference to our numerous failures in the col- 

 lodion process ; but the remedies he proposes are 

 not, as he is aware, infallible. He gives the re- 

 commendation you find in every work on the 

 .subject, viz. to lift the plate up and down in the 

 bath to allow evaporation of ether. I have made 

 experiments day after day to ascertain the value 

 of this advice, and I am convinced, as far as my 

 practice goes, that you gain nothing by it ; indeed, 

 I am sure that I much oftener get a more even 

 film when the plate is left in the bath for about 

 two minutes without lifting it out. I should be 

 .glad of other photographers' opinion on the point. 



I have never found any benefit, but much the 

 jContrary, from re-dipping the plate in the bath ; 



and I may observe the same of mixing a drop or 

 two of silver solution with the developing fluid. 



I think with G. H. P. that the developing so- 

 lution should be weak for positives. 



I omitted, in my description of a new head-rest, 

 to say that it is better to have all the parts iu 

 metal ; and that the hole, through which the arm 

 runs, should be a square mortice instead of a 

 round one, as is usual. A screw at the side sets 

 it fast ; the lower portion of the upright piece 

 being round, and sliding up and down in a tube 

 of metal, as it does in the best rests, allowing the 

 sitter to be placed in different positions. All this 

 is very difficult to describe, but a slight diagram 

 would explain it easily, which I would willingly, 

 as I have before said, send to any one thinking it 

 worth writing to me for. J. L. Sisson. 



Edingthorpe Rectory. 



On some Difficulties in Photographic Practice.— 

 Being desirous to have a glass bath for the silver, ' 

 I was glad to find you had given (in " Notices to 

 Correspondents") directions for making one, viz. 

 two parts best red sealing-wax to one part of Jef- 

 fries' marine glue. I tried this, but found the 

 application of it to the glass impossible, as it set 

 immediately. Now, can you afford room for the 

 means by which this may be remedied ; as my wish 

 to substitute glass for gutta percha remains ? 



Now I am addressing you, may I offer one or 

 two hints which may be of service to beginners ? 

 If, after what has been considered a sufficient wash- 

 ing of the glass, after the hypo., during the drying, 

 crystals from hypo, remaining appear, and which 

 would most certainly destroy the picture, I have 

 found that by breathing well over these parts, and 

 immediately repeating the washing, all ill effects 

 are thoroughly prevented. To substitute hot 

 water instead of breathing does not desti'oy the 

 hyposulphite, and therefore will not do. 



When the plate shall be dry after the washing 

 process, if a leaden, dim, grey appearance occurs, 

 I have found that by tenderly rubbing it with fine 

 cotton, and applying with a good-sized camel's hair 

 pencil a varnish of about 8-lOths spirits of turpen- 

 tine and 2-lOths mastic varnish, and then, before 

 this gets dry, putting on the black varnish, the 

 grey effect will have been removed. 



1 have found the protonitrate of iron, as also 

 the protosulphate, and not seldom the pyrogalUc, 

 so difficult of application, that I have stained and 

 spoiled very good pictures. I have therefore used, 

 and with perfect success, a tray of gutta percha a 

 little longer than the glass (say one-fourth of an 

 inch), and one-fourth of an inch deep ; sliding 

 from one end the glass into the tray (supplied im- 

 mediately before using it), by which means the 

 glass is all covered at once. 



I think the Rev. Mr. Sisson's suggestion, viz. 

 to send you some of our specimens with collodion, 



