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New Street Sprinkler A NOVEL method of solving the

problem of street sprinkling has been suggested by Mr. John F. McCoy of New Orleans, La. He has patented

NOVEL STREET SPRINKLING APPARATUS.

an invention which he says will permit each property owner to settle the question himself. He can have the street in front of his property as wet or as dry as he pleases. And in addition the expense to the city of providing the old fashioned water-cart will be eliminated. His solution of the difficulty takes the form of a curb attachment which will sprinkle one side of the street whenever the water is turned on by the individual householder. A metal tube, perforated on the outer side, is imbedded in the concrete curb. This tube is connected with a street hydrant, and when the water is turned on tiny streams gush from the holes in the tubing and

sprinkle the street as long as is necessary. Figure number one shows a section of the curb with sprinkling attachment in place, and figure two shows how the device looks from the street.

Fountain of Bubbles

FOUNTAIN of bubbles is proving A a great attraction in England. A machine is arranged so that 20,000 soap bubbles a minute may be blown with coal gas and sent up into the air. The beautiful effect in colors when the sun shines on this fountain may well be imagined. At night artificial lighting and the use of colored fires add to the beauty and interest. The soap bubble is also suggested as a substitute for pigeons or glass balls in marksmanship contests.

To Cure Sea-sickness PAUL KAPPMEIER of Altkloster,

Germany, has recently invented a device, called "Neptune's Cap," which is said to provide a certain mechanical cure for sea-sickness. The device, which is the result of much study and investigation, depends for its efficacy on the fact that the principal cause of sea-sickness is cerebral anaemia, the blood of persons so affected running from the head to the gastric regions. By means of heat, furnished by small electric radi

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"NEPTUNE CAP" IN USE.

ators, and by compresses, which act upon certain arteries of the head, a more copious supply of blood is provided for the cranium and the distressing symptoms of sea sickness promptly relieved.

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Not What Sister Says

SISTER: "Does your dolly talk when you squeeze it?"

Himself a Victim

A HARVARD Sophomore was reciting a memorized oration in one of the classes in public speaking. After the first two sentences his memory failed, and a look of blank despair came over his face. He began as follows:

"Ladies and Gentlemen: Washington is dead, Lincoln is dead"-then forgetting, he hesitated a moment and continued, "and-I -I am beginning to feel sick myself."-Boston Harvard.

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SLOBBS: "Naturally. One is descended from Ham and the other from eggs."-Exchange.

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Shocking

SHE was a pretty little woman from the interior of the State, and she boarded Conductor Mulligan's car to come to St. Johns to visit her sister-in-law. She had but little knowledge of the trolley system, and viewed everything along the route with intense interest. "If I should put my foot on that rail," said she, pointing to the nearest bit of track, "would I get a shock?" Mulligan smiled. "Not unless you put your other foot on the over-head wire!" replied the suave conductor. The dear woman almost fainted.-St. Johns (Ore.) Review.

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CHALK
TALKS

by CARL S. DOW.

Vignetting

T is an almost invariable rule that, Sooner or later, the photographer wishes to make prints of various shapes and sizes, or pictures with the less important objects so printed that they are subordinate to the rest. Or, if he be engaged in portraiture, or in the preparation of prints for half-tone plates, he will make vignetted pictures, which have a prominent central figure and the edges gradually fading to white. Common examples are seen in studio portraits.

Vignettes

To make a vignette, the negative is commonly made as for a "square finish,"

and the vignette effect produced in the print. In some studios the negative

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itself is partially, sometimes wholly, prepared for vignetting; that is, the interposition of a suitable serrated screen during exposure so obscures the light from the lower portion of the figure that the head and shoulders only are prominent. This scheme is advantageous, when the background is to be dark to the extreme edges of the print, but has the disadvantage of making it imperative to always make a vignette from that negative, while the ordinary negative can have either style of print taken from it.

There are three methods of making the vignette, all of which have for their object the shutting off of the light from the edges. To make the change from deep tones to white, gradual, requires constant movement, or the placing of the edge which shuts off the light far enough from the negative to prevent a sharply defined line. A little experimenting will show how the vignette can be made. Cut a circular hole in the cover of a negative box and place it on the face of a printing frame, about one inch from the glass, the vertical sides of the box shutting out the light. Now if the frame is exposed to a north light or placed in the shade, the result will be a fairly satisfactory vignette. If the printing must be accomplished in less time, cover the hole with tissue paper and print in the full sunlight. Another way is to cut the hole of the desired shape in a sheet of cardboard and print in the sun, keeping the cardboard moving slowly to prevent a sharp line. For these ways of vignetting, the hole is often made serrated, the teeth and the spaces making a more gradual change of depth of color. The third method is a device which can be purchased from dealers for a small sum. The "home made" outfit answers all purposes, however.

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(Rights of publication reserved by author.)

Masking

Many a print would have far greater value if the beginner knew how to handle the deep shadows. The principle of vignetting enables one to make a good print from a negative of transparent shadows and dense high lights. A little holding back in the printing, by covering or masking the shadows for a time, or the prolonged printing of the high lights will prevent the "bronzing" or "burningup" of the shadows and give more detail to the light portions. To hold back the shadows, a piece of paper cut to the shape of the thin part and moved slightly on the negative while printing, should be used during part of the process.

Letters

To get the narrow white line around pictures printed as letters or in various shapes, as shown by the initial letters of this and the preceding Chalk Talk, the desired shape is cut out of thin black paper such as comes around dry plates. This paper is used as a mask in the printing it is placed between the film of the negative and the paper, so the resulting print will have a wider border of white, which may be trimmed to the desired width after toning or developing.

The two illustrations on the accompanying plate are suggestions for this work, the combination of masking and vignetting being particularly effective for certain classes of picture. Instead of a white line, a black border can be placed around the picture by transferring the print to a frame having clear glass instead of a negative and black paper of the proper shape covering the picture. If the mask is mounted on thin tissue paper the result is easily accomplished.

Clouds

A fact commonly known among photographers is that with most brands of dry plate if landscapes have the proper

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