Page 70 - The Wellington photographic handbook

A washer, which works admirably, can be extemporised out
of any big basin and a piece of thin muslin or net. The prints
are placed in the basin, which is stood on the middle of the muslin
in the sink. The muslin is then drawn up all round till it fits the
edge of the basin and is tied over the mouth of the tap. A little
arrangement will show how a small stream from the tap should
fall so as to give a constant circulation to the water, and thus keep
the prints separate and moving. The muslin allows the water to
flow away, but prevents the prints from washing out of the vessel.
Washing performed in basins or dishes in which the overflow
is from the top must be done with the water constantly in motion,
otherwise the hypo solution sinks to the bottom and does not flow
away. If the water flows out of a hole or syphon at the bottom of
the vessel, as in most of the ready-made washers, so much motion
need not be given to the water, because the hypo solution passes
away more easily. Whichever plan is adopted washing will be
finished in 30 minutes, provided the water has been running all the
time, or, in the case of hand washing, has been constantly changed,
the prints being drained and the dish rinsed between each change.

DRYING, TRIMMING AND MOUNTING
BROMIDE PRINTS.
When the washing is finished, the prints must be taken out
one at a time and then dried. The simplest way of drying, if a
few small ones only have to be dealt with, is to mop off the super-
fluous moisture from back and front with good photographic
blotting-paper or a clean cloth, and then to lay them face upwards
on a clean sheet of paper where they can dry out of the dust. Prints
must not be allowed to dry between blotting-paper, or, owing
to their surface being composed of gelatine, they will stick to the
paper.
Large prints are most conveniently dried either by putting
them over a line or hanging them from one corner by means of
clips. A number of small prints can be dealt with by running a
pin through one corner of each and sticking it into the edge of a
shelf, or a piece of wood supported at its ends, so that the prints
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