80 ELEMENTARY PHOTO-MICROGRAPHY. 



cloth or blotting paper, and it is put into the rack 

 to dry. The rack should be in a warm room free 

 from dust, but not too near a fire lest the gelatine 

 melt and spoil the plate. Slow drying will often 

 spoil the negative by leaving various degrees of 

 density in the film. 



Flooding the plate with methylated spirit will 

 assist quick drying. If tap water be used for 

 washing, it should be seen that it is not charged 

 with air, which causes the gelatine to separate 

 from the glass. 



Running water, where available, is more effec- 

 tive in dissolving out the hypo, from which the 

 negative should be freed. 



Sometimes a plate may have to be developed 

 late at night, when it would be risky to leave it 

 soaking in water till next day, especially in warm 

 weather. The Hypax tablet in such a case will 

 be found an excellent substitute for prolonged 

 washing. After the plate has been well rinsed, it 

 is put in a dish and covered with water. Half a 

 tablet of Hypax or other hypo eliminator is put 

 in one corner until all has been dissolved ; the 

 negative is then rinsed in clean water, and the 

 hypo will have been eliminated. 



A good fixing bath is made of four ounces hypo 

 dissolved in a pint of water. Vertical fixing in a 

 trough capable of fixing six negatives at a time is 

 recommended. After many plates have been fixed 



