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PHOTOGRAPHY. 



When Daguerre first published his great discovery, 

 the European public regarded his metal tablets with 

 feelings of wonder : we have grown accustomed to the 

 "beautiful phenomena of this art, and we have become 

 acquainted with a number of no less beautiful processes 

 on paper, all of which, if studied aright, must convince 

 the most superficial thinker, that a world of wonder lies 

 a little beyond our knowledge, but within the reach of 

 industrious and patient research. Photography is the 

 name by which the art of sun-painting will be for ever 

 known. We regard this as unfortunate, conveying as it 

 does a false idea, the pictures not being light-drawn. 

 Could we adopt the name given by Niepce to the pro- 

 cess, the difficulty would be avoided, since Heliography 

 involves no hypothesis, and strictly tells the undeniable 

 truth, that our pictures are sun-drawn. That pictures 

 can be produced by the rays from artificial sources, 

 presents no objection to this ; these rays were still 

 originally derived from the sun. 



By whatever name we determine to convey our 

 ideas of these phenomena, it is certain that they involve 

 a series of effects which are of the highest interest to 

 every lover of nature, and of the utmost importance to 

 the artist and the amateur. By easy manipulation we 

 are now enabled to give permanence to the charming 

 pictures which are produced by means of that pleasing 

 invention of Baptista Porta, the Camera Obscura. Any 

 image, which being refracted by the lens of this instru- 

 ment falls upon the table in its dark chamber, may be 

 secured with its most delicate gradations of shadows, 

 upon either a metallic or a paper tablet. 



But let us proceed to the examination of a few of the 

 more striking phenomena of these chemical changes. 

 To commence with some of the more simple but no less 

 important results. 



Chlorine and hydrogen will not unite in darkness, 

 nor "ttill chlorine and carbonic oxide ; but, if either of 



