8 The Camera and its Accessories 
From the lens and the shutter let us turn our atten- 
tion to the other end of the bellows, for here we meet 
with no little difficulty in the form of the plate-holder. 
The unsuspecting are inveigled into’ purchasing a 
light holder, because the weight of the outfit is thus 
somewhat decreased. All such plate-holders as the 
“Fairy” and the “Feather-weight” should have no 
room in the closet of the real nature photographer. 
They are toys, and should be treated as such—mere 
jokes at the expense of the purchaser. I have ex- 
perienced the saddest realities with such plate-holders, 
as well as with slides that in sunlight were not light- 
tight for half a minute. Certain compositions of 
rubber and celluloid are probably the best for slides, 
but these need careful treatment. Great care must 
be exercised in the selection of plate-holders, and 
even then they need careful watching; for parts that 
are supposed to be automatic do not always work. 
A very essential part of the field ‘camera is what it 
rests upon—the tripod. The tripod that I have used 
for some time is known as the “F and S crown tripod 
number three.” Various parts of this I have rein- 
forced with screws and metal. To many this may 
seem unnecessary, but having seen two serious 
mishaps to valuable cameras from the use of poor 
frail tripods, I speak feelingly upon the subject. 
