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Writing Letters.
II.
This series of articles on letter-writing is addressed to the Knights, but others may look over their shoulders and profit by the hints.
Use good stationery—that is, paper and envelopes of white or tint. Avoid gaudy designs. If you can afford an embossed monogram, have it small. If you have any printing at all on your paper have it embossed, preferably in dark blue, and modest, plain letters. But it is not at all necessary that stationery be embossed. Good form does not require it. What we urge you to avoid using are leaves torn from a memorandum-book, unsized paper that is made of straw, gaudy envelopes too large for the paper, and some firm's letter or note headings. Stationery is inexpensive. Better write only two letters a year and have them worthy of you than to write a hundred on ill-fitting and ill-finished paper.
When you begin a letter, do it with your street, number, city, and State. Then follow with the date. Have the last-named correct. Don't guess at it, and don't knowingly date your letters back, in order to make your correspondent think you have answered more promptly than you have. By such an act you utter an untruth. Besides, your deception is almost always seen and noted.
If you live in a small town, give the State. We receive many letters from people who do not observe this common-sense rule. We find your letter dated "Mount Vernon." The post-mark oh the envelope is indistinct. We look in the Postal Guide—an effort for you that you have no right to put your correspondent to, and one he might have been saved had you written your letter as you should have done—and there find twenty-four Mount Vernons! Then you wonder why you receive no reply!
If you live in a large city, give street and number every time you write. It does not matter if the postman lives next door to you and brings you everything directed to your name. How do your correspondents know that? We do not like to post a valuable letter addressed to "John Smith, Chicago, Ill." He may get it, but we have misgivings. And then, because you gave your address in one letter, don't say: "Oh, he knows where I live. I gave my address in my letter of last week." Yes, so you did, and the letter of last week is filed away where it will take trouble and time to find it, and get from it information that you ought to have given.
The Florida Seminoles.
Since my short article on "Biscayne Bay and its Marvels" was published I have received several letters requesting me to write all I know about southern Florida and the Everglades.
The Seminole Indians are a great attraction during the winter to the southeast coast of Florida. During the summer they traverse the wilds of the Everglades in search of game, which they sell during the winter to the winter visitors at West Palm Beach. The squaws have been busy making moccasins and leggings, and the bucks have been skinning and tanning the hides of deer, alligators, and other game.
The Seminoles, or most of them, are very fond of strong drink, or "wyomie," as it is called in Indian parlance. Many of them can write their names, and some can write notes. They are becoming more civilized in their mode of dress. Here is a note one Indian wrote. I give it as a specimen.
November 20, '95.
Whiskey Man, Sir, I tell you, you whiskey man, you good man, sir, you likes me, and my name, Jackson Charlie. Me send whiskey, big quart whiskey. See you 6th next month; me come see you; me pay you $1.25. Me sell you buckskin, smoking skin.
Jackson Charlie.
The Seminoles own their farms. One of their camps is a very interesting object. They kill and smoke deer-meat, tan the hides, and sell them. There was an Indian school recently established on the east coast. It will be a great benefit if it is continued. One of the interesting Indians at Palm Beach is Little Tom Tiger. Last spring he was cut in the forehead by a bottle hurled at his head by a bad Indian. His father, old Tommie Jumper, dressed the wound and told him he must not touch a drop of wyomie for ten months. When he is spoken to about it, he will count the ten months on his fingers and say, "Ten months soon be up, and I drink wyomie again."
Harry R. Whitcomb. Umatilla, Fla.
Amateur Newspaper Makers.
How familiar this sounds: Louis O. Brosie, publisher of the Little Magnet, Pittsburg, says that when he began his paper, two years ago, he sent out 100 sample copies, expecting to get from them a large number of subscriptions. Instead he got four. People were afraid to pay their money, expecting the paper would last only a few months. But Sir Louis triumphed at last. He got subscriptions and advertisements, and expects to continue his paper. He printed a Good Will Mite, and some months ago sent us $2. He now prints 500 copies.
William C Meintzer, Easton, Md., wants to join an amateur press association, especially one in Maryland. To do the latter he should write to the secretary of the Maryland Club of the N. A. P. A., G. Edward Harrison, 708 Fidelity Building, Baltimore, who is president, vice-president, or secretary of half a dozen or so other amateur clubs, and wants to make the acquaintance of other Baltimore and Maryland members of the Order. E. M. Wallace, Monmouth, Ill., wants to hear from publishers of amateur newspapers.
Wheat Sheaf Leaflets is the name of a new quarterly which we have received bearing the compliments of the scholars and teachers of Wheat Sheaf School, the names of those teachers being Misses A. C. Cocker and Elizabeth Baillie. The paper, a neat eight-page one, is filled with letters written to the Priscilla Chapter, formed of pupils of the school, preceded by a song and an explanation of what the Chapter is. Modesty forbids the editors, but it does not forbid us, saying that the Priscilla is among the very best Chapters in the Order, whose work in the way of correspondence, collections, etc, has been helpful and practical. The price of Leaflets is five cents a copy, and its address is Wheat Sheaf School, Frankford, Philadelphia, Pa.
A Very Clever Kink.
Two men declared they could name the prettiest rural drive in all England. The dispute waxing warm, they agreed to write out the route each thought to be the prettiest and hand their respective slips of paper to a third party. They did this, and when the disinterested third party, in the presence of the disputants and a few of their respective friends, opened the sealed papers it was found that one had written: "Coventry to Stratford-on-Avon, by the way of Kenilworth, Leamington, and Warwick." And the other: "Stratford-on-Avon to Coventry, by the way of Warwick, Leamington, and Kenilworth."
Of course a general laugh followed, but when it subsided, one disputant, a little piqued that he had not won beyond further cavil, remarked with some warmth that he could name to the other disputant and his friends there present the amount of a certain nobleman's fortune, doing so in plain terms, in no enigmatical phrase, and yet they, in thirty minutes' time, could not name the amount in pounds sterling. Everybody present knew the nobleman mentioned, and all were desirous of learning the amount of his wealth—a sum which the speaker, through supposed business relations, was thought to be in a position to know.
Challenged to name the sum, the man read the following, from Macbeth, Act V., Scene V.:
If thou speak'st false, Upon the next tree shalt thou hang alive, Till famine cling thee: if thy speech be sooth, I care not if thou dost for me as much. I pull in resolution; and begin To doubt the equivocation of the fiend, That lies like truth: "Fear not, till Birnam wood Do come to Dunsinane:"—and now a wood Comes toward Dunsinane.—Arm, arm, and out!— If this, which he avouches, does appear. There is nor flying hence, nor tarrying here. I 'gin to be a-weary of the sun, And wish the estate o' the world were now undone.— Ring the alarum bell!—Blow wind, come wrack! At least we'll die with harness on our back.
At the end of the half-hour the challenged party gave up. Need they have done so had you been present to help them?
Any questions in regard to photograph matters will be willingly answered by the Editor of this column, and we should be glad to hear from any of our club who can make helpful suggestions.
TINTED TRANSPARENCIES.
Every amateur, no matter how successful he may be, now and then spoils a sensitive plate. Though the plate is rendered useless for a negative, it can be made into a pretty transparency with very little trouble. The spoiled plate must first be cleaned from the blackened silver. This is done by placing it in a solution called "Fanner's Reducer," which is prepared as follows:
Potassium ferricyanide3 grs.
Hyposulphite of soda30 grs.
Distilled water4 oz.
Leave the plate in this solution till the silver is all dissolved and the gelatine film which covers the plate is perfectly clear. Rinse it thoroughly in running water, and immerse it for three minutes in a sensitive bath made of
Bichromate of ammonium48 grs.
Distilled water4 oz.
The plate may be cleared from the silver by a white light, but it must be immersed in the sensitive bath by a red light and dried in the dark, as it will discolor if exposed to the light. To make a positive picture on this prepared plate one must have a positive from which to print, and a paper print may be used, if one does not wish to make a positive on glass.
Print till the shadows are a deep brown and detail well out, then wash in clear water till all the brown tone has disappeared, and set the plate up to dry. When dry immerse in a color bath composed of ½ oz. of China blue, ¼ oz. of oxalic acid, and 1 pint of water. The plate should be left in the coloring solution till it is a deeper tint than desired when dry, then wash in several changes of water till the water shows no trace of the coloring matter, and dry in a place free from dust. Place a cover glass over the film side of the transparency, and bind first with adhesive strips, which can be bought ready prepared, and then with ribbon, or one may use the frames which are made specially for transparencies.
Any color may be used instead of the China blue. Dragon's blood, carmine, green, mauve (which makes a beautiful violet tint), or any color which one prefers. It is very little trouble to make these transparencies, and they repay one for the work.
A member of the Camera Club asks how long eikonogen may be kept if it is placed in a tin box; what kind of pictures are the best for prizes; how engravings can be copied on celluloid; how to take a picture with the camera pointed toward the window. Eikonogen crystals are best preserved in a tightly stoppered glass bottle. Eikonogen in solution may be kept a long time by the addition of acid sulphite of soda, if the bottles are filled full and well stoppered. Glass stoppers are better than corks. The kind of pictures which are best for prize competitions depends on the style of pictures for which prizes are offered. If the prize is for figure studies, a single figure is better than a group, and a simple subject much more attractive than one "dressed up" for the occasion. In landscape pictures an extended view, unless unusually fine, rarely wins even honorable mention. In making landscape studies, for the picture as a picture, one cannot do better than to study the best works of landscape artists, which are always to be seen through photographic copies. It will be noticed that painters follow the advice of Sidney Smith, and "take short views." Will our correspondent please explain what he means by "engravings copied on celluloid"? To take a picture with the camera pointed toward the window use a non-halation plate and a small diaphragm. One way in which to take a picture with the camera pointed toward the window is to take a picture with the curtain or shutter closed, then open them and make an exposure for the window which is, of course, much shorter than for the interior. Our correspondent sends this formula for eikonogen developer, which he says keeps a long time, and gives more contrast than most developers: Sulphite of soda crystals, 180 grs.; hot water, 6 oz. When thoroughly dissolved add 60 grs. of eikonogen. No. 2. Carbonate of potassium, 75 grs.; water 2 oz. To develop take 3 oz. of No. 1 and 1 oz. of No. 2. In preparing eikonogen developers the ingredients should be added to hot water, and the eikonogen left till all the rest are dissolved.
Miss Sara L. Merrick asks how to print photographs on writing-paper, and if plain salted paper can be bought ready sensitized. Plain salted paper cannot be bought ready prepared, but it is easy to prepare after the formula given in the Round Table, Nos. 796 and 803. To print on writing-paper, sensitize a strip at the top of the sheet of paper, using unglazed paper, then print as on any other paper, taking care that all parts, except where the picture is to appear, are covered with black needle paper. The whole of the sheet can be put into the toning solution, or simply the part sensitized.
Sir Knight Stephen W. Hurst, Newark, N.J., asks for directions for making lantern slides. Sir Stephen will find directions in Nos. 798 and 799 (February 12 and 19), and later we shall give some new ideas on making and using lantern slides.
Sir Knight John Dunham asks how to transfer a negative of a steamer to another negative. A note was sent to Sir John asking him to explain just what he wished to do, and the query would be answered, but the letter was returned, though bearing the address given, 1733 Vine Street, Philadelphia, Pa. If Sir John means transferring to a clean glass, directions will be found in No. 856; if not, will he kindly write again and explain a little more fully what he wishes to know? There is no process by which a negative can be transferred by electricity.
Miss Flora J. Wheeler wishes to know what kind of a camera to purchase, as she purposes to learn photography. A hand camera is usually considered best for the beginner, as it is much easier handled and managed than a tripod camera. A 4 by 5 is a good size to begin with, and the lens may be used both for scenery and for making figure studies. Most amateurs, unless far advanced in the art, use only two lenses—one for portraiture, and the other for out-door work. The beginner should use one lens, and learn what it can do and cannot do before trying different lenses. With every camera directions are given for its use, and also for developing and printing. The papers for beginners published in the Camera Club column will be found helpful. No. 1 was published in No. 812 (May 21, 1895). Any questions which Miss Wheeler wishes to ask in regard to her work will be answered in this column.
Sir Knight Frederick G. Clapp asks what makes the zigzag streaks on the film of a negative after it has been intensified, and if the yellowish-olive color to which the plates turn when intensified should wash out. Did Sir Frederick soak the negative in water before immersing it in the intensifying solution? The plate should be soaked till the film is wet, and when placed in the intensifier it should be kept gently moving so that the chemicals may act evenly. Try this method, and let the editor know the results. The olive color of the negative does not always wash out, but, unless too deep, does not injure the printing qualities of the plate.
Sir Knight Henry Wens, who asks for formula for stripping films from broken plates, will find full directions in this number of the Camera Club.
LETTERS FROM PRIZE-WINNERS.
Sir Knight Joseph Lovering writes: "Please accept my thanks for the check for $15 which you sent me for the prize in the photographic contest. I did not expect my picture to take a prize, and I was very much gratified when I received your letter." Sir Joseph took first prize in marines. Sir Joseph also asks if he will be allowed to compete next year, and if it is allowable to enter pictures in more than one class. Yes, to both questions.
Sir Knight Luke Murdock writes: "I received the prize sent me by Harper & Brothers, and although I tried to have my pictures look as nice as possible, I was much surprised that I took a prize. I was very much pleased, and I thank you heartily, and will endeavor to spend the money to the best advantage in a photographic line." Sir Knight Luke took second prize for Junior figure studies in Junior Class. His picture was entitled, "I Won't Stand Still."
Mrs. Nils Holm, Patron, who took second prize in figure studies Senior Class, writes that she never competed before, and was both surprised and pleased at her success, and should make more vigorous efforts than ever before.
Brisk exercise, a good quick rub, An Ivory-Soap-and-water scrub, With nerves restrung and muscles tense The woman's new in every sense.