304 | RECREATION. 
is reached rinse the négative and place it 
in the sulphite solution, which at once 
checks all reducing action. After 5 minutes 
in this bath give the negative a 2 minute 
wash and place it in the fixing bath for 10 
minutes. After this, wash for half an hour. 
This process is useful, and I advise every 
amateur to keep a supply of persulphate on 
hand, as by its use one may produce a won- 
derful improvement in many faulty nega- 
tives. ; 
Local reduction or intensification may be 
tried with the foregoing solutions in case a 
small portion of the negative needs treat- 
ment. For instance, a window in an in- 
terior view which is badly blurred may be 
reduced by careful work with a soft brush 
wet with Farmer's solution, which has been 
mixed with a few drops of gum arabic so- 
lution to prevent it from spreading. This 
reducing solution soon loses its power and 
should be mixed just before use. This 
brush work is slow and requires great 
care, but the results often repay one for 
the time and labor involved. 
In case of a landscape negative having 
a sky which. has good clouds, but which is 
too dense to allow the clouds to print out, 
this method is useful. Give the negative a 
good soaking, then hold it in a slanting po- 
sition, sky down, over a tray containing 
2 or 3 ounces of the reducer. With a tuft 
of cotton go over the sky, spreading the 
reducer evenly and working close to the 
horizon line. Rinse off the reducer fre- 
quently, as this prevents a sharp line at the 
horizon, where the action of the reducer 
stops. 
Both bichloride of mercury and potassium 
ferricyanide’ are poisons and should be 
handled carefully or serious results may 
follow. 
C. M. Whitney, Bayonne, N. J. 

HALATION. 
The chief cause of halation is that 
strong light penetrates the film, passes 
through the glass, strikes the back 
surface of the plate and is reflected back 
into the film, thus giving a double light 
action where the light has acted too strong- 
ly already. For example, notice the halo 
about the windows in interiors, and the 
edges of dark objects taken against a bright 
sky. In photographing snow scenes and 
clouds halation is exceedingly troublesome 
and generally present. To prevent halation 
we must either prevent the light passing 
through the plate or else absorb it when 
it does pass through, so it will not be re- 
flected back again. 
The first method is to use a double coated 
plate. These plates have first a slow emul- 
sion and then a quick emulsion on top. So 
much of the light is absorbed before pene- 
trating this double coating that there is 
little if any to be reflected back again. The 
chief objection to the double coated plate 
is that development must take place in a 
much diluted developer, which prolongs de: 
velopment; and in addition these negatives 
are so dense that it is often difficult to judge 
when development should be stopped. Fix- 
ing takes place slowly and the negatives 
must be washed twice as long as the ordi- 
nary plate. 
To absorb the light when it has once , 
passed through the plate, coat the back 
of the plate with some opaque substance. 
Some plate makers have backed plates on 
the market. For those who desire to back 
their own plates numerous preparations are 
on the market. Another good method is 
to coat the back of the plate with a sheet 
of black paper. Care must be taken that 
the paper is in actual contact over the whole 
surface of the plate. Paper cut to the 
proper sizes can be bought of the supply 
dealers. 
When developing plates which are liable 
to show more or less halation it is well to 
develop tentatively, never overdeveloping 
and often stopping as soon as detail is com- 
plete, even though density is lacking. Such 
negatives will show much less halation than 
if fully developed and can be intensified 
sufficiently to make good prints. 
R. L. Wadhams, M.D., Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 

SNAP SHOTS. 
-Some time ago I saw a formula in REc- 
REATION for an instantaneous toning bath. 
I. have tried it. several times and 
have found it satisfactory in every re- 
spect except one. About every third print 
tones with metallic brown spots on it. 
Whether that is my fault or not I have not 
been able to determine. Will you advise 
me what the matter is? 
L. R. Anderson, Oxford, Iowa. 
ANSWER. 
Metallic spots appearing on printing out 
paper in the toning bath, are often caused 
by using metal forms for trimming prints, 
either oval or square. Small particles of 
the metal adhere to the paper. The spots 
may also be due to defective paper. I sug- 
gest referring the matter to the manufac- 
turer of the paper.—EDITorR. 

A negative might often be improved by 
intensifying. Before intensitying, a nega- 
tive should be placed in a weak reducer a 
few seconds, then washed thoroughly, after 
which it should be intensified. Give this a 
trial and you will be surprised at the su- 
perior results obtained over the old method. 
C., Bethlehem, Pa. 
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