AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY. 



79 



developer? Is it economical to use com- 

 bined developer and fixer, and is it worth 

 anything in your opinion? How can plates 

 be spotted? I mean how is it done? Can 

 "E. W. N." be bought in smaller quanti- 

 ties? Should an acid fixer be used with 

 an alkaline developer? How can portraits 

 best be made with a 4 x 5 Wizard B. and 

 a Nehring portrait lens? My room in 

 which I make them has windows on the 

 West. 



Edgar R. Thome, West Hanover, Pa. 



ANSWER. 



Sulphite of soda is neutral if good. Al- 

 kaline sulphite disturbs the balance of 

 your developer, naturally. 



Some only keep a stock solution of sul- 

 phite at 60 grains to the ounce, or even 

 40, and add dry pyro and dry soda as 

 wanted when developing. 



. Boflay is good. It is, I believe, hydro- 

 chinone and hypo with carbonate of potash. 



Send to E. W. Newcomb, Bible House, 

 New York City, for circular in answer to 

 this, no charge for directions. The 50 

 cent box is the least quantity sold. 



Acid fixer is often used after alkaline 

 developer, and you will find it recommend- 

 ed for many plates by the makers. 



Your arrangement is good. If you use a 

 reflecting screen to one side of and a little 

 in front of the sitter you will have good 

 results. — Editor. 



NOTHING BETTER THAN PYRO. 



Does the length of time a P. O. P. print 

 remains in the toning bath affect the perma- 

 nency; whether removed quickly for red 

 or brown tones, or left the usual length of 

 time, as for purple or black? 



You place pyro ahead of all other devel- 

 opers. I have never used it, and' hesitate 

 now to make a change, since my work, 

 though not altogether satisfactory to my- 

 self, is fair. Do you think the results would 

 justify the extra trouble of using pyro, 

 with its staining propensities, etc.? 



Is there any method of preventing the 

 tendency to fog, during development in hot 

 weather, other than using ice, where this is 

 hard to obtain? 



Amateur, Blackstone, Va. 



ANSWER. 



The print, in combined bath, should re- 

 main only long enough to insure fixation, 

 regardless of the tone. In the double tones 

 you may tone red, purple or nearly black 

 in gold and then fix in hypo without affect- 

 ine the permanency of the print. 



Pyro is absolutely the best developer 

 there is, and will give amateurs far better 

 results than so-called stainless developers, 

 which do stain after all. By using plate 

 lifters for plates and clips for film you 



need never soil your fingers in pyro. The 

 sooner you use it the better it will be for 

 you. 



Plates do not fog any more during hot 

 weather than cold, nor will ice stop fog. If 

 you mean frill, use formaldehyde in your 

 hypo, one dram to a pint. If you mean 

 fog, stop up the cracks in your room, re- 

 place your slides squarely in the holder, 

 do not use a leaky lamp, keep holders in 

 shade when out, and you will not have so 

 much fog. — Editor. 



TO GIVE CRIMSON TONE. 



Crimson prints are a new thing, that 

 is, as far as anything can be new in this 

 age of second-hand discoveries. The ton- 

 ing bath is made up when wanted and 

 used at once, and is as follows: 

 Sulphocyanide of ammonia ... .75 grains. 



Iodide of potash 20 



Water . 3 ounces. 



Chloride of gold, dissolved in 2 



drams water 4 grains. 



Wash the prints well before toning, and 

 see to it that they are but proof deep. 

 Fix full 15 minutes, as silver iodide dis- 

 solves less freely in hypo than silver 

 chloride. Toning to a bright crimson 

 with the above bath takes 30 to 45 minutes. 

 There is your formula; now if you want 

 to paint the town's portraits red, go 

 ahead. 



Blue prints are in favor again. I am 

 glad of it. The humble, simply made, 

 water-developed, permanent old chap has 

 not deserved to be let alone as he has 

 been for some years. Try a 9x14 panel 

 in blue, with a border of silver paint 

 % inch wide around the edge. Call it a 

 Venetian or a Cyanotype, or any other 

 name, state that it is warranted absolutely 

 fadeless and permanent, and charge an 

 extra price for it. Might be just the thing 

 to revive interest in some of your nega- 

 tives. — E. W. Newcomb, in the Profes- 

 sional and Amateur Photographer. 



HOW TO WORK URANIUM INTENSIFIER. 



I inclose clipping giving formula for in- 

 tensifier. Will you please explain more 

 fully, through Recreation, how to work 

 it? T. Beach, Columbia, Ala. 



The clipping enclosed by Mr. Beach is 

 as follows : 



Nitrate of uranium intensifier will give 

 to the thinnest negatives printing qualities 

 which the mercurial intensifier fails to give 

 on account of the red color which it im- 

 parts to the negative. The formula is the 

 following: Solution I., dilute acetic acid 

 with 4 times its bulk of water. To 100 

 narts of it add one part of nitrate of uran- 

 ium. Solution II. is a one per cent, solu- 

 tion of red prussiate of potassium. For 



