On Sun Painting. A457 
T have tried others, but I find this method the easiest and 
most certain. 
Some calotypists use successive washes or baths of nitrate 
of silver, and solution of iodide of potassium, &c. Some 
wash first with the iodide solution, and then brush on the 
nitrate washes. Others again use the iodide bromide solu- 
tion alone, &c.: but it would take volumes to contain all the 
processes and fancied improvements. 
Without wishing to exalt the Calotype process above its 
great rival the Daguerreotype, I think that it possesses the 
following advantages :—Paper, the material upon which it is 
taken, is less costly and cumbersome than the metal plates of 
the Daguerreotype; the artist is not so much at the mercy 
of his subjects, as landscapes and buildings are not so trouble- 
some to copy as nervous or fidgetty sitters for portraits ; and 
lastly, the power of producing an infinity of copies from one 
matrix is not the least of its attractions. _ 
On the’other hand, the extreme minuteness of detail and 
sharpness of outline which the Daguerreotype gives is not 
to be obtained by the Calotype process. ‘he time of expo- 
gure in the latter is fully five times as long as in the former, 
which renders its application to portraits impracticable. 
Tt will readily be comprehended that the extreme uncer- 
tainty of success in this process, even after the greatest care 
and attention has been bestowed upon the preparation of 
the papers, renders the amusement highly exciting. At the 
moment that the paper is removed from exposure in the 
camera, there is no indication whether the operation may or 
may not have failed. Until the Gallic acid solution is applied 
the paper is generally white, or rather straw-coloured, as at 
the commencement of the operation. After, however, a few 
minutes application of the Gallic acid, a slight change comes 
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