AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY. 



407 



Why, Uncle Josh! she sed, if I'd bin 

 reddy, I could hev got another Gene Ray 

 picture, an' I'd 'a' called it "Another Vic- 

 tim of Jersey Lightning." 



Well, we fin'ly got M'ria tu help us; 

 we cornered Mr. Calf agin an' tied th' close 

 line good an' tight an' I held it. Then we 

 tied the well rope on tother side an' M'ria 

 held thet. 



I couldn't stand very natural myself on 

 account uv my pance, but I did th' best 1 

 cud tu look unconcerned. When th' pictur 

 wuz dun th' gal showed it tu us. M'ria 

 had cum out in a hurry, an' th' marks on 

 her apurn where she had whipped th' flour 

 ofen her hands showed up purty plain. 



The gal sed I looked like "patience on a 

 tombstone smilin' at beef." 



I wonder if she meant anything by thet. 

 — Western Camera Notes. 



THE CAMERA IS MIGHTIER THAN THE 

 GUN. 

 Having wanted, for some time, to take 

 pictures, I bought a camera. It was not 

 one of the sort that win photo competi- 

 ti ^ns, but still was a good enough picture 

 taker. I studied the book of instructions 

 until I mastered the art of loading the plate 

 holder and putting it into the camera. Then 

 I persuaded my wife to sit still long enough 

 to have her picture taken. I met with so 

 much success in this venture that I im- 

 agined I could take anything from a stack 

 of hay to a runaway automobile ; but after 

 attempting to take a picture of a horse 

 race I gave up the idea of the automobile, 

 and turned my attention to snapping squir- 

 rels, rabbits, woodchucks, and birds. 



Hunting these with a camera is one of 

 the greatest enjoyments of my life. A 

 grey squirrel may, now and then, taste 

 good, and perhaps you could eat one with 

 as much relish and little thought as a hog 

 eats corn. A mounted grouse, quail or 

 woodcock may adorn some corner of your 

 study or office, but a portrait of one of 

 these birds will represent far more skill 

 and less expense,. 



If you have never tried taking the picture 

 of a mother bird and her young, try it. 

 Find where they live and put down cracked 

 corn, wheat or buckwheat, or, better still, 

 some salsify heads, of which most birds 

 are extremely fond. After a short time the 

 birds will find the bait. Set your camera 

 near, focussing it on the spot, and tie to 

 the finger release a string 200 or 300 feet 

 long. Lay this out carefully so you can 

 release the shutter without any disturbance 

 in the brush. Next set your shutter at one 

 second, and the diaphram in accordance 

 with the amount of light. Retreat to the end 

 of your string. There sit patiently until 

 all is just as you wish it. In this way you 

 will be able to get pictures that will bring 



you pure enjoyment, and will sell readily 

 for a good price. 



The man who hunts with dog and gun 

 waits until his dog finds a bird. Then the 

 dog waits until the man is ready to flush. 

 Up goes the bird and falls, never to rise 

 again. It drops, the prey of a heartless 

 hunter, to be picked up and eaten or sold. 

 It is more fun to hunt a week with a cam- 

 era than to hunt a month with dog and 

 gun. You can get your camera ready and 

 sit watching and waiting for your game, 

 while with Recreation in your hands you 

 may study the nature of your bird as others 

 have found it, compare it with your obser- 

 vation and go home a wiser and happier 

 man. 



G. V. McAllister, So. Danby, N. Y. 



ANOTHER CHANCE TO WIN A PRIZE. 



Amateur photographers should remem- 

 ber that my 7th annual competition remains 

 open until November 30th. The closing 

 date was made 2 months later this year 

 than heretofore in order to give all ama- 

 teurs a chance to compete. Thousands of 

 busy men do not take their annual vaca- 

 tions until October or November. Then 

 they go into the woods with gun, rod and 

 camera. It was with a view to giving such 

 people a chance to enter the competition 

 that the open season was prolonged. There 

 are frequently fine days in October and 

 November when good pictures may be 

 taken. _ The leaves fall by that time and 

 better light may be obtained in the forests. 

 It is possible to get many more pictures of 

 live birds and animals, especially by 

 bait, in the autumn than in summer, and 

 I trust this new arrangement may result 

 in many fine pictures being entered in the 

 1902 competition. 



WASH THOROUGHLY AT EIRST. 



About a month after developing them. I 

 put some negatives, insufficiently washed 

 at first, into a second wash. In a short 

 time the film left the glass. What was 

 the cause of this, and what will prevent it? 

 What will blacken a camera which has 

 turned red ? 



Chas. Boehler, Camden, N. Y. 



ANSWER. 



It is a not unusual occurrence. You 

 should do the washing immediately after 

 fixing. If well washed then the film will not 

 leave the glass should you later desire to 

 wet it. 



When the film leaves a plate you can 

 save it, if clean, by flowing a clear glass 

 with albumen solution, drying it and dip- 

 ping it under the film as it floats in water, 

 careiully smoothing the film down on the 

 glass. Albumen solution is white of one 

 egg shaken well in 8 ounces of water. 



