AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY. 



491 



soon passes to brown, then purple, and fin- 

 ally to red tones, with a diminution in in- 

 tensity of the image. Positives on glass 

 may be also toned by this bath. Mr. Fer- 

 guson states that remarkably fine colors 

 are obtained by this toning process, and 

 recommends it to all persons who wish to 

 vary the ordinary tone of bromide prints. — 

 Scientific American. 



bath may be used repeatedly until exhaust- 

 ed, giving it an occasional sunning to pre- 

 cipitate impurities. This will also answer 

 for paper or cloth, in which case use half 

 the quantity of gelatine. — Exchange. 



PRACTICAL HINTS. 



An under-exposed negative that shows 

 but a faint detail of the image, the shadows 

 being as clear glass, is useless for printing 

 purposes, but may be converted into a good 

 positive by bleaching in mercury or bro- 

 mide of copper. When washed, dried and 

 given a coat of black varnish, it has all the 

 appearance of a collodion tintype positive. 



Discolored platinum prints, in which the 

 whites have yellowed in consequence of the 

 whole of the iron salt not having been re- 

 moved, may be restored by immersion in a 

 bath made by dissolving J / 2 ounce of so- 

 dium carbonate and 300 grains chloride of 

 lime in 8 ounces of water. 



Negatives should not be allowed to wash 

 over an hour, as the gelatine becomes so 

 dissolved that uneven drying may result. 

 In stacking up negatives for drying, an 

 equal play of air should be allowed, as if a 

 portion gets dried long before the rest there 

 will surely be a marked difference in the 

 density. Where a negative has been 

 splashed with water, it should not be dried 

 without wetting the whole surface, for the 

 same reason. 



Gelatine prints are given a beautiful matt 

 surface by squeegeeing on sheets of ground 

 glass. Care must be taken to avoid air 

 bubbles, which cause shining patches. If 

 these appear, the print must be again 

 soaked, and it may be found necessary to 

 bring print and glass together under the 

 surface of the water. 



Here is a good and easily made intensi- 

 fier : Sulphate of copper, 100 grains ; po- 

 tassium bromide, 100 grains ; water, 10 

 ounces. Have the negative free from hypo 

 and immerse in the solution until bleached, 

 wash well and re-blacken with any devel- 

 oper. The ingredients are cheap. 



Wood, for covers of fancy boxes, may 

 easily be sensitized so it can be printed on 

 from an ordinary negative. Make a salt- 

 ing solution of ammonium chloride 10 

 grains, gelatine 20 grains and water 10 

 ounces. The wood, which should be well 

 seasoned, with a good surface, is supported 

 at the extreme corners on blocks of glass, 

 and placed face downward in the salting 

 solution about 5 minutes. Dry in the light ; 

 sensitize by similar immersion 5 minutes 

 in a 45-grain bath to the ounce of nitrate 

 of silver, and dry in the dark. Print, fix 

 and tone as ordinary paper. The silver 



STARCH PASTE. 



The best paste for mounting pictures is 

 properly made starch paste. It is cheap, 

 yet at the same time is the best. It is easily 

 made, therefore no more need be prepared 

 than the batch of prints requires, although 

 it may be preserved by addition of a drop 

 or 2 of oil of cloves or carbolic acid, and 

 it sticks with unyielding tenacity if prop- 

 erly made. 



The one condition necessary for this 

 state of things is the mixing. You must 

 get that right, otherwise the paste will be 

 worse than useless. The starch should 

 first be made into a stiff, but smooth paste, 

 with about as much cold water as starch. 

 After well mixing, it should be allowed to 

 stand for a few minutes, until all the 

 starch has settled to the bottom. Then 

 pour off as much water from the top as 

 you possibly can. To every drachm of 

 starch one ounce of boiling water should 

 then be added as quickly as possible. Stir 

 until the whole is clear and transparent. 

 Allow to stand until it has set into a stiff 

 jelly, when it is ready for use. 



Having previously cut the print to the 

 size required, it should be mounted while 

 damp. To make it so, a wet sponge may 

 be applied to the back until it is limp, 

 which will take a few minutes. Put on 

 the mountant with a stiff brush, rubbing it 

 well into the paper, being particularly care- 

 ful in covering the edges. Place in posi- 

 tion on the mount, and cover with a piece 

 of plain paper; not printed, as the ink 

 would soon come off on the damp gelatine 

 surface. Squeegee out, commencing from 

 the center, all excessive paste, being care- 

 ful not to leave air bubbles between the 

 photo and the mount. Remove the paper, 

 and with the damp sponge wipe off all the 

 excess of mountant, starting from the print 

 itself, as, if you should go the other way, 

 the chances are the film would turn up 

 around the edges. 



With the dampness having hitherto been 

 all on one side of the mount, and the action 

 of the contracting print itself, the mount 

 will curl on becoming dry. To counteract 

 this, it should be well damped on the back 

 with a wet sponge and dried in a fairly 

 warm room with weights placed at each 

 corner of the mount. — Camera and Dark 

 Room. 



SEPIA TONES ON BROMIDE PAPER. 

 By using the following formula, rich 

 brown and sepia tones can be readily ob- 



