THE WOMBAT. 69 



suffices to remove as much of the products of decomposition 

 as can be removed by several hours washing, and that after 

 proper and thorough washing for a short time we may con- 

 sider that practically all the soluble salts are got rid of ; at 

 any rate those that remain are in too small a quantity to 

 exercise any appreciable effect on the print. 



I think that these remarks will serve to shew that the 

 importance of thorough fixing cannot be over-estimated, and 

 that more attention should be given to this part of the work 

 of printing than it receives as a rule ; the practice of putting 

 the prints in a heap into the fixing bath, and then leaving 

 them there for ten or fifteen minutes instead of keeping them 

 separated and moving the whole time is not a fixing operation 

 at all, and if prints so treated do not shew evidence of 

 degradation before long, it is more by good luck than by good 

 management. 



It is now time to bring these remarks to a close, and it is 

 hoped that they may lead to the exercise of a little more 

 interest on the part of amateurs in these very important 

 branches of photographic work. 



PAPER MAKING— PAST AND PRESENT. 



By. J. Hepburn. 



(Read before the Gordon College Science Club, 21/11/98.) 



In the earliest ages of mankind very simple means were used 

 to preserve the record of any important event, and many and 

 curious were the devices resorted to for the purpose of trans- 

 mitting to posterity the stories of deeds and discoveries. Of 

 all the natural productions used for this purpose the nearest 

 approach to paper was papyrus, from which the term " paper " 

 is taken. 



The mode of making papyrus consisted simply in the 

 separation of the thin concentric coats of the plant which 

 surround the stock and spreading them lengthwise side by 

 side on a table, a similar layer being laid across them at 

 right angles ; they were then moistened with water and, 

 while wet, were put under pressure, being afterwards exposed 

 to the sun's rays until dry. The material thus produced was 

 afterwards smoothed with some hard substance to improve 

 the surface and prevent its being too absorbent ; the saccharine 

 with which the plant is abundantly charged was sufficient to 

 cause the adhesion of the strips. 



The absence of authenticated records has produced much 

 speculation as to when, where, and by whom paper was first 

 made. The Chinese are generally credited with its invention, 



