78 



RECREATION. 



is a string tied to the paw of the animal 

 on the left of the photo. Don't you no- 

 tice an upright switch a little to the left 

 of the base of the tree the beaver is resting 

 on? To steady the beaver against the 

 tree, Mr. Balch propped its paw with that 

 switch. Where the switch meets the paw 

 it forks to the right and comes between 

 the naw and the range of the camera. 

 That part of the switch being more ex- 

 posed than the rest, the light glistens on 

 it and makes it appear white. As you say, 

 the body does look unnaturally large 

 around the chest. The eyes of the beaver 

 on the right have the dull, glassy 

 look of a dead animal's ; but the damaging 

 evidence on this beaver is its ears, which 

 are laid back. If it was quietly cutting 

 wood, as Mr. Balch claims, how is it that 

 it had its ears back, a position they would 

 assume only when the animal was fright- 

 ened or in a fighting mood? The marks 

 in the fur are immaterial ; wet fur will 

 often stick in bunches. 



Byron Dickson, Olney, Pa. 



I have read the whole controversy on 

 Mr. Balch's beaver picture with much 

 interest. From the comments of 

 those who seem familiar with the 

 habits of beaver. I have drawn my con- 

 clusions. I have had a little experience 

 with photography, having been in the busi- 

 ness 4 years, and have found it hard to 

 get so distinct a picture at the time of day 

 Mr. Balch claims to have taken his, espe- 

 cially at that time of year. 

 W. W. Wilson, Washington Depot, Conn. 



Mr. Balch does not deserve any prize. 

 I am an amateur photographer, and do 

 not think such a negative as Mr. B.'s can 

 be made after the sun is down, without 

 giving at least one second's exposure, and 

 I think 5 seconds would be better. 



C. C. Spooner, Bull's Bridge, Conn. 



I have taken many photos of game, and 

 the 2 points that strike me as being most 

 against Mr. Balch are the matter of light 

 at 4 o'clock in the woods and the apparent 

 distance of the camera from the beaver. 

 H. K. Bogart, Mesa, Colo. 



PRACTICAL INTENSIFICATION. 

 One of the most common difficulties that 

 worry the amateur is how to deal with thin 

 negatives. Whether through ignorance or 

 through a desire to secure all the detail in 

 the beautiful scene before him, the nega- 

 tive is often much over exposed. Conse- 

 quently, in developing it is impossible to get 

 the requisite density, and the negative, al- 

 though full of detail, will not yield any- 

 thing but a flat mealy-looking print. To 

 get the requisite density to give good con- 

 trast it is, of course, the proper thing to 

 expose correctly, but as this is not always 



done the next best thing is to have recourse 

 to intensification. Thin negatives, caused 

 by over exposure or under development, are 

 much improved by intensification, the high 

 lights becoming more intense and the nega- 

 tive more vigorous. Under exposed nega- 

 tives are often thin and the details imper- 

 fect. If slightly under exposed they may 

 be improved by intensification, but if much 

 under exposed and the detail is not there, 

 intensification would only make matters 

 worse, and nothing remains but to throw 

 the negative away. 



Many formulae have been advocated for 

 intensifying, but that most commonly used 

 is bleaching the negative in bichloride of 

 mercury, and blackening again in dilute 

 ammonia water or sulphite of soda. This 

 answers w p ll if carefully done, where only 

 slight strengthening of the details is need- 

 ed ; but the real intensification is but little 

 and hardly worth the risk to the negative. 



There is risk in the process, and it is bet- 

 ter to practice on some discarded negative 

 before treating any pet subject. The prin- 

 cipal cause of failure is lack of cleanliness 

 in the dishes employed and want of 

 thorough washing between the various pro- 

 cesses. There must be thorough washing 

 to remove all of the previously used chemi- 

 cal from the film. 



A formula which I now use gives me the 

 best satisfaction. I got it from a profes- 

 sional friend who uses it exclusively, and 

 who purposely over exposes his negatives 

 and afterward gets the required density by 

 the use of this intensifier. The intensifica- 

 tion is real, and care must be taken not to 

 carry it too far. The solution acts in pro- 

 portion to the amount of silver contained 

 in the film, the high lights becoming more 

 intense as they contain more silver, while 

 the shadows containing less silver are less 

 affected, thereby increasing the contrasts. 



It is easily controlled, quick in action, 

 and the solutions can be used repeatedly 

 until they cease to act. For use prepare 

 the following: 



i. Bichloride of mercury 96 grains 



Bromide of potassium 96 grains 



Distilled water 12 ounces 



2. Crystallized cyanide of potas- 

 sium 90 grains 



Nitrate of silver 96 grains 



Distilled Water 12 ounces 



The solutions should stand 2 days before 

 being used. The negative must be per- 

 fectly fixed and thoroughly washed. 

 Place it in a tray containing sufficient of 

 No. 1 solution to cover the plate. Rock 

 the tray gently. If only slight intensifica- 

 tion is desired remove before the plate has 

 whitened through to the back and as soon 

 as it has grayed all over the surface. For 

 stronger intensification allow it to remain 

 until it has whitened through to the glass. 



