6 WILD LIFE AT HOME. 



sand or grit in the dark slides, and never to 

 expose them to the light more than is absolutely 

 necessary ; to expose plates always in the same 

 order, beginning at number one, and working 

 upwards. This will prevent the aggravating blunder 

 of taking two pictures on the same plate. It is a 

 very useful thing to carry a note-book, and jot 

 down in it the numbers of the plates exposed, 

 and the subjects. An annoying oversight, which 

 even experienced photographers sometimes commit 

 during moments of great excitement caused by 

 some rare opportunity suddenly presenting itself, is 

 to omit to draw out the shutter of their dark 

 slide, and thus expose a bit of polished mahogany 

 instead of a sensitised plate to the subject whose 

 image they wish to perpetuate. 



The securing of a good sharp focus is an 

 extremely important thing ; and if it is impossible 

 to get a friend to hold the back of his hand 

 exactly where, for example, a bird is expected to 

 come to feed her young in the nest, an old 

 envelope that has been through the post will do 

 just as well. 



We are often asked by correspondents what 

 sort of plates we use. We have done a great deal 

 of good work with the Ilford Chromatic, which 

 were until recently known as Isochromatic, for still 

 objects full of colour, such as flowers, birds' eggs, 

 and insects at rest ; Imperial Special Rapid for 

 quick-time exposures ; and Flashlight for very fast 



