
eQa RECREATION. 
affirm; but by thé following simple method 
the drying process can be accomplished 1. 
a comparatively short time. 
With a piece of blotting paper remove 
all surplus water from surface of negative. 
Place same in tray and pour over it enough 
strong alcohol to entirely cover film. Leave 
for a minute or 2 and then set up in a 
warm (not hot) place, and preferably in 
a draught of air, when it will dry rapidly. 
The action is due to the intense affinity 
of alcohol for water and to the low evap- 
orating point of same. It absorbs and as 
it evaporates carries with it the moisture 
contained in the film of the negative. Di- 
lute alcohol having that affinity already 
partially satisfied will not act as readily nor 
as satisfactorily as will that which is 
stronger. F. C. Bogart, Warren, Pa. 

I snould like to hear through REcREA- 
TION from some of your readers who are 
using the Nodark camera. Is it a practical 
instrument? Can more than one picture 
be made without finishing? Is it really a 
magazine camera? Or does the picture 
have to be finished before another can be 
taken? Please give any other information 
as to its merits and demerits. Box 15, 
Jennings, Ala. 
I referred this letter to a reader who 
is using a Nodark and he answers as fol- 
lows: 
“The instrument referred to is a practical 
one in every way. As each plate is exposed 
it is dropped from the magazine into a 
developing chamber, where it is developed, 
and then fixed without the use of a dark 
room. The makers have lately added a 
transfer box into which plates can be 
dropped from the camera, in dry form, and 
developed at the leisure of the operator.” 
With a sharp knife and a set of celluloid 
set squares, trim the print to the required 
size, thus getting the corners square and 
the edges straight. Then wet the print in 
cold water and lay it down on a sheet of 
glass. To the back of the print apply the 
paste with a stiff brush. When well pastea 
remove all lumps which may _ remain. 
Slipping the blade of a knife under one cor- 
ner take the print off the glass and lay it 
still face down on a piece of transparent 
oiled silk, previously dampened with a 
sponge. It is the silk that does the 
trick. Being damp the print adheres to 
it and being transparent, when held (with 
the adhering print underneath) in a hori- 
zontal position over the card you can lay 
down the print wherever you want it, 
thus getting it straight on the card. 
Clinton Burbank, Danville, Quebec. 
Amateur photographers who intend to 
enter pictures in RECREATION’s Fourth An- 
nual Competition should be diligently 
watching for good subjects during these 
balmy summer days. The contest closes 
September 3oth. The date was made thus 
late in order to give the best possible op- 
portunity for selecting subjects and for 
making repeated attempts, if necessary, to 
get the best possible results. Please con- 
sult the list of prizes at the head of this de- 
partment. ‘There are some interesting fea- 
tures in it. The articles are more widely 
diversified than heretofore and they are 
of such a character that if not useful to 
the person winning them they may easily 
be sold at some local store, or exchanged 
for something you want. 

In March ReEcREATION, page 160, you 
speak of a negative varnish, 3-4 ounce gum 
sandarac, I 1-2 ounce foreign oil of laven- 
der and 7 ounces alcohol. I got the ma- 
terial and mixed as stated, but the varnish 
is rather thin. Would it do to put in more 
of the gum? 
EK. LL. Barratt, San’ Diesox Gab. 

Please tell me how to adjust a camera 
to take a picture smaller than the plate 
holder. I have seen pictures 114 inches 
square taken with a 5 x 7 camera. 
John A. Yates, Rockport, Ind. 
Small pictures are made with large cam- 
eras by the aid of kits, which are sold by 
all photographic dealers. A kit is a sheet 
of black hard rubber, the size of the plate 
used in a camera, with an opening in the 
center,-of varying sizes as required. An 
article will soon appear in this department 
describing the use of these kits —Ep1Tor. 

While in Indiana I was astonished at the - 
large number of people I met who read 
RECREATION. They all know it and quote 
its 
Barton W. Evermann, Ichthyologist, U. 

Are you a fly fisherman? If so, why not 
send me 2 subscriptions to RECREATION 
and get a dozen high grade assorted trout 
flies, listed at $1? Or 3 subscriptions and 
get a dozen high grade assorted bass flies, 
listed at $2? - 

Do you ever camp out? If so, why sleep 
on the cold, hard ground? Why not take 
with you a pneumatic rubber mattress? 
You can get one for 25 subscriptions to 
RECREATION. 

You can get a fine Camera by securing 
a club of subscribers for RECREATION.. 

