AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY. 



245 



FLASHLIGHT POWDER. 

 Kindly publish in Recreation a recipe 

 for making flashlight powder. 



R. Lindsay MacAdan, 

 • Westmount, Montreal, Can. 



ANSWER. 



Many journals refuse to give formulae 

 for flashlight powders on account of" the 

 danger incurred in compounding them. If 

 you must make your own try any of the 

 following, but grind each chemical sepa- 

 rately and mix on a blotter with a wooden 

 implement. A spark would end your earth- 

 ly career, or would maim you and probably 

 blind you. 



Powdered magnesium, dry, 1 part bulk ; 

 powdered permanganate of Potash, 1 part 

 bulk. Use any convenient measure, say a 

 small pill box. 



Magnesium powder, 3 parts; antimony 

 sulphide, 1 part; chlorate of potash, 6 

 parts. 



Coat sheets of thin celluloid with dex- 

 trine paste and sift pure magnesium on 

 both sides. Pin on a board, when dry, and 

 burn. A 4-inch square burns about 2 sec- 

 onds. This is much the safest of all. 



TONING BATH FOR SOLIO. 

 I saw in September, 1901, Recreation, 

 an article in the department of Amateur 

 Photography, by Edward W. Newcomb, as 

 to a toning bath for Solio paper. I use 

 Sun paper, which works the same as Solio, 

 and have tried this bath. I am pleased with 

 the tone, but I have trouble with a yellow 

 stain, which comes on some of the prints. 

 Some of them stain when I put them in, 

 while others stain when the solution is 

 moved a little. I thought it might be the 

 paper, but I tried Solio with the same re- 

 sults. I enclose print to show what I mean 

 by the stain. Will you please tell me, if 

 possible, what causes this stain, and how 

 I can prevent it. I find Recreation a great 

 help to me. 



Alfred S. Griffiths, Amityville, N. Y. 



ANSWER. 



If you will wash your prints a little 

 longer before toning and keep them sub- 

 merged in the hypo all the time they are 

 fixing, turning each one over and over, 

 your difficulties will vanish. Editor. 



URANIUM TONING. 

 In December Recreation in your ama- 

 teur photo department "Uranium Ton- 

 ing of Bromide Prints" is not clear 

 Possibly some lines have been omitted as 

 no mention in the formula is made of 

 uranium nitrate, which presumably is the 

 active toning agent used. I am always 

 greatly interested in this department and 

 have clippings from Recreation for some 

 years back, arranged in the form of an 



indexed reference book. I should like to 

 try this uranium process. Will you not 

 correct the article mentioned? 



Edwin O. Torbohm, New York City. 



ANSWER. 



The only difficulty with the formula 

 given is due to a misprint. For nitrate of 

 ammonia read nitrate of uranium. The 

 formula will then work. I can supply you 

 with formulae for toning bromides or 

 Velox prints to a number of colors. 



Editor. 



NEGATIVE VARNISH. 



Please give me formula for negative var- 

 nish, and oblige Mrs. E. E. Lawrence, 



Token Creek, Wis. 



ANSWER. 



Following are 3 good formulae: 



Place in a flask 95 per cent, alcohol, I 

 quart ; white stick lac, 3 ounces ; picked 

 sandarac, 3 drams. Place flask in warm 

 water and leave till solids dissolve. Filter 

 through absorbent cotton and bottle for 

 use. 



1 ounce bleached shellac ; benzoin gum, 

 3 drams; juniper gum, 1 dram; soda 

 borax, 1 dram. Powder and dry them, 

 dissolve in 95 per cent, alcohol to proper 

 consistency and filter. 



The foregoing both require that the plate 

 be slightly warmed before applying. 



A formula which can be used on a cold 

 plate is : Alcohol, 95 per cent, 1 ounce ; 

 gum thus, 10 grains; gum sandarac, 15 

 grains. Dissolve and filter through 

 sponge. 



SNAP SHOTS, 



Should like to hear of the experience of 

 others with E. W. Newcomb's spotting 

 medium. I got a box of it, but it seemed 

 full of grit and left small black specks on 

 the print. It was dry and .hard,, and I 

 moistened it with glycerine, but that did 

 not help it much. I use India ink for my 

 spotting, but it does not fill the bill as 

 something else ought to. 



A. H. Middleswart, Portland, Ohio. 



ANSWER. 



Newcomb's spotting medium is giving 

 perfect satisfaction to all users who under- 

 stand it. Mr. Newcomb can supply you 

 with further directions if you fail to under- 

 stand the method of using the medium, 

 and, furthermore, will give you another 

 box if yours is at all unsatisfactory. Scrape 

 a little loose with a knife, fill the brush 

 full, work it into the brush on a smooth 

 surface, and the brush is then good for 2 

 weeks' or a month's use without further 

 filling by merely wetting it at the lips. — 

 Editor, 



