490 



RECREATION. 



titles, as it keeps indefinitely, and can be 

 used a second time for slow developing. 



To prevent plates or films from frilling, 

 wash them after they are developed; then 

 immerse 2 minutes in a saturated solu- 

 tion of alum. Rinse well, and put into fix- 

 ing bath. 



If you want a camera to use away from 

 home, buy a No. 2 Bull's-Eye Kodak. You 

 will understand it more quickly and get 

 better pictures with it than with any other 

 camera on the market. Choice negatives 

 from it may be enlarged to any desired 

 size by the bromide process. I have one 

 of these cameras that was in constant use 

 3 months on the Mojave Desert, and 

 aside from the wear and tear of such a 

 trip it is as good to-day as ever. Of the 

 hundreds of pictures I took less than 5 

 per cent, were bad. 



If you intend to work at home, and have 

 taken photography up as a study and not 

 as a "fad," get the best camera your means 

 will permit. If you buy a Long Focus 

 Korona with a rectigraphic or anistigmat 

 lens you will not go wrong. 



HOME MADE DRY PLATES. 



The following formula? are from Sir An- 

 . drew Pringle's work and are reliable : In 

 order to make slow landscape and lantern 

 slide dry plates procure the following arti- 

 cles: A pint stone or earthenware inkbottle, 

 a thermometer, a piece of railroad canvas 

 about 18 inches square, a pint bowl, coarse 

 muslin y 2 yard, boiled, first; glass or slate 

 slab, 12 inches by 24 inches, bone or silver 

 teaspoon, for small plates, small quart tin 

 dish, deep; small piece of fine lawn, boiled, 

 and a l / 2 pint earthenware jar. Make up 

 9 or 10 ounces of gelatine emulsion. That 

 will coat about 6 dozen zYa^aVa plates. 

 Cleanse the ink bottle thoroughly and 

 place in it: 



Nelson's No. 1 (soft) gelatine. .. 10 grains 



Bromide potassium 70 grains 



Cold distilled water 5 ounces 



Soak 30 minutes. Heat to 130 degrees 

 Fahr. in hot water, using thermometer, 

 and by shaking dissolve contents of bottle. 

 Then add nitrate of silver, in crystals, 90 

 grains; shake and keep warm till silver is 

 dissolved. Add iodide of potassium, 2 

 grains, and hydrochloric acid, 2 minims. 

 Shake well. Place a cork in the bottle hav- 

 ing a slot in side and place it in hot water. 

 Boil 5 minutes, then cool gradually, and 

 at 140 decrees Fahr. add 100 grains Hein- 

 rich's hard gelatine. Put this in bottle 

 dry and shake till all dissolved. Then pour 

 contents into a bowl to cool and place the 

 bowl in cold or ice water. Let it stand 2 

 hours or until solid; then take a silver 

 knife or fork and break up the mass into 

 Small pieces. Have ready a gallon crock 



l / 2 full of cold water; place gelatine pieces 

 or shreds in center of your piece of rail- 

 road canvas, or a very coarse muslin; 

 gather it up and around the mass, and, 

 holding it in your hands, immerse the 

 canvas in water in crock till all the cold 

 gelatine has been squeezed through. Let it 

 settle. Pour off nearly all the water and, 

 placing the canvas over another crock or 

 funnel, pour the shreds on it and repeat 

 the operation; or add a new supply of 

 water to the precipitated gelatine, stir, 

 pour off water, let settle, and repeat this 

 several times, till the shreds of gelatine 

 have had 4 or 5 thorough washings. Then 

 collect the shreds on a piece of muslin, 

 squeeze out the water and place the mass 

 in a small l / 2 pint jar. Put this into warm 

 water at about 100 degrees and melt it. 

 It is then ready to coat plates. Level pre- 

 viously the slab by means of wedges and 

 a level. Hold glass plate to coat in left 

 hand and pour on it a teaspoonful of the 

 melted emulsion. Carefully flow back and 

 forth till plate is covered. Then place on 

 slab to set. Do this till many coated. 

 When gelatine is well set place the plates 

 on shelves in a drying closet or beech- 

 eaten light box to dry. 



E. M. Huffnagle, Belmar, N. J. 



THE PHOTO DEALER AGAIN. 



■ I was much interested and amused by an 

 article in the January number of Recrea- 

 tion under the heading of "Photo Deal- 

 ers," etc. I had also noticed, in a previous 

 number, an advertisement by a taxidermist 

 in regard to photographing his subjects. 

 Being a taxidermist myself, I resolved to 

 buy a camera and try to do the 

 same. I went into a photo dealer's 

 store and asked to see some 4x5 cam- 

 eras. I explained to him exactly what 

 I wanted the machine for, and wanted 

 him to give me one that would pho- 

 tograph single objects, such as birds, 

 heads, etc., in my line of work. Yes! he 

 knew exactly what I wanted. He sold me 

 a small box of a camera, which would 

 focus everything in a room except the main 

 object I wanted. At the same time I had 

 asked him to give me the necessary chem- 

 icals for the production of a picture. I 

 quite agree with our contributor about 

 dealers who sell unnecessaries for a nov- 

 ice. He gave me about 10 pounds of 

 hypo, a big bottle of pyro, and any num- 

 ber of dishes I could not use. I paid a bill 

 of $15, with no discount. At the time of 

 buying I stated to him that I was a green- 

 horn at the game, and asked him to show 

 me just how to focus, develop, etc. I fol- 

 lowed his instructions in every detail, with 

 the most dismal results. I soon got tired 

 of that kind of work, resolved to give the 

 whole thing up, thoroughly disgusted, and 



