176 W. Crookes on the Wax-paper Photographic Process. 



far preferable ; the surface is smoother, and the various solutions 

 penetrate much better. 



59. The first operation which the paper has to undergo is 

 salting : the bath for this purpose consists of 



Chlorid of sodium . . . 100 grains 

 Distilled water .... 40 ounces. 

 Filter this into a clean dish, and completely immerse the sheets, 

 marked as directed (27). This is best done by laying them 

 gently on the surface of the liquid, and then pressing them under 

 by passing a glass rod over them ; as many sheets as the dish 

 will hold may be thus immersed one after the other. Allow 

 them to soak for about ten minutes, then lift and turn them over 

 in a body ; afterwards they may be hung up to dry (38), com- 

 mencing with the sheet which was first put in. When dry, they 

 may be taken down and put aside for use at any future time. 

 The sheets in drying generally curl up very much ; it will there- 

 fore be found convenient in the next process, if the salted sheets, 

 before being put away, have been allowed to remain in the 

 pressure frame, tight, for about 24 hours. This makes them 

 perfectly flat. 



60. The exciting bath is composed of 



Nitrate of silver .... 150 grains. 

 Distilled water .... 10 ounces. 



After filtering, pour the solution into a clean dish ; and then 

 lay the sheets, salted as above, on the surface, face downwards, 

 gently breathing on the back, if it be necessary, to counteract 

 the tendency to curl up ; let them remain on this bath for about 

 10 minutes, and then hang up to dry (38). 



61. This exciting bath will serve for nearly 100 sheets; it will 

 then be better to put it on one side (64), and make a new bath. 

 It is not advisable to excite more positive sheets than will be 

 likely to be required in the course of a week, for they gradually 

 turn brown by keeping, even in the dark, and lose sensitiveness. 

 They will, however, keep much better, if pressed tight in the 

 pressure frame, and thus protected from the air. 



62. When a positive is to be printed from a negative, let the 

 glass of the pressure frame be perfectly cleansed and free from 

 dust on both sides, then lay the negative on it, with its back to 

 the glass. On it place a sheet of positive paper, with its sensi- 

 tive side down. Then, having placed over, as a pad, several 

 sheets of blotting paper, screw the back down with sufficient 

 force to press the two sheets into close contact, but of course not 

 so as to endanger the glass. Now place the frame in the sun, so 

 that the light can fall perpendicularly on the glass, and allow it 

 to remain there until it is judged to have been exposed long 

 enough. 



