52 ELEMENTARY PHOTO-MICROGRAPHY. 



fogging need be feared. The plate may be lifted 

 out occasionally and held up to the lamp to view 

 the image, looking at the back of the plate also to 

 see if the image appears at that side. If the object 

 shows clearly and is well defined when held against 

 the light, and also shows on the back of the plate, 

 development may be considered sufficient. 



If, however, the whole image appears thin and 

 ghost-like, there is a fault in the exposure. Should 

 the high lights represented by black places on the 

 negative come up slowly and the other details do not 

 follow, the plate is under-exposed. With patience, 

 perhaps a printable negative may be got, but as a 

 rule it is better to throw it away and make another. 

 If, on the other hand, the image rushes up quickly, 

 the plate is over-exposed, and the developer must 

 be diluted, adding also more bromide to prevent 

 fogging. 



After development is completed, the plate may be 

 washed in water and put into the fixing bath to stay 

 fifteen minutes. 



From this it is transferred to the washing trough, 

 and the water changed eight times, allowing it to 

 soak for five minutes between each change. The back 

 of the negative is then dried with a 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 



