52 Photography for the Sportsman Naturalist 



minute transparent spots caused by dust on the 

 plates either when the exposure was made or 

 during the development. 



Another thing that we must be careful to avoid 

 is air bubbles on the plate during development, 

 for these will also cause transparent spots. The 

 developer should be flowed over the plate quickly 

 and evenly, and the tray must be constantly rocked 

 until the development is completed. It is even 

 a good plan to pass a wad of absorbent cotton 

 over the face of the negative, after it has been 

 immersed, to break any bubbles that may have 

 formed upon it, for these sometimes will not 

 break simply by the action of rocking the tray. 



After development the plate should be rinsed 

 in clear water before being placed in the hypo. 

 This is not absolutely necessary, but will some- 

 times prevent staining. It should be allowed to 

 remain in the hypo bath until it is thoroughly 

 fixed, for a plate insufficiently fixed will invariably 

 show stains sooner or later, and these stains can- 

 not be removed. Therefore it is always best to 

 leave the plate in the hypo for several minutes 

 after it has the appearance of being completely 

 fixed. The double-coated or non-halation plates 

 take much longer to fix out than do the ordinary 

 ones, and therefore extra care should be taken 

 with them in this respect. An old hypo bath that 

 has turned yellow should never be used, as its 



