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August 21, 1885.J THE PHOTOGRAPHIC NEWS. 531 one to take ; thia leads into a charming amphitheatre of hills, with the river Leese winding almost entirely round the base. A fine modern, chateau on the left is soon reached, and about two miles further on the same road, Chateau de Waltzin stands on its rocky eminence. On arriving at a notice board near the chateau, the down hill road must be taken until the farm and river are reached. The farmer is ever ready with his boat to ferry you over above the falls for a few sous, and return for you any time, as the castle cannot be seen until the river is crossed, being perched on a quite perpendicular rock of great height. There are six good pictures to be made of this, each one presenting entirely different features, and the morning’s light is most suitable for five of these. I got the six between breakfast and dinner (which at the hotel is one o’clock), walking both ways, carrying a 7} by 5 camera and six double slides ; the other six plates can be utilized en route. The river-side houses near the bridge at Dinant, with the curious Turkish-like tower of the cathedral, are good subjects, and finely lighted about 11 a.m. The cathedral door (the old one) is fine, so are many old houses in the bye-streets. Down the river, by the gasworks, is a small stream ; following this stream up the valley, there are some ruined paper mills. The road is a winding one, and the valley has a very Welsh look. On the opposite side of the river, the railway side, the village of Bovignes stands about one mile, with the ruined castle of Crevecour ; and almost under the church, a fine old specimen of Spanish architecture. The ruins of Montaigle, and the caverns of Han, are also reached by this road. Hastieres, one station on the line to Givet (fourteen miles), a good specimen of a French frontier town, by taking the train to Givet, and strolling back by the river, numbers of good views are to be had, meeting the train at some station as soon as the plates are exhausted. The famous caverns of Han are nearly a day’s drive from Rochfort, and in the heart of the Ardennes. There are miles of these caverns, with fantastic names, which should be explored with a guide, and not a camera. Huy (pronounced Wee) is a town very romantically situated on the Meuse, about twenty miles from Namur. There is a famous old gateway adjoining the cathedral, which every photographer will feel bound “ to do.” It is necessary to rise early to get this, as the only time the sun tips any of the quaint carving is about 7.30 to 8 o’clock a.m. The carving is very curious, and the figures of the Virgin, Child, and the oxen very well pre served. The best views here at Huy are obtained by pro ceeding up the river bank on the right, until stopped by walls, then winding through some ill-smelling suburbs, where all the town garbage appears to be in process of sorting and decomposition. After passing here, make for the river side, and the views, both up and down the river, are very fine. Bas-Oba, a village a few miles on here, is a queer little place, with a few subjects. From Huy the train may be taken to Melreux, and from there by diligence to La Roche. La Roche is a veritable artist’s home. It is “too delightful," and little known, even to those who think they have “ done ” the Continent thoroughly ; is quite unconventional, and, moreover, is an exceedingly cheap place to live in ; and though the hotel accommodation is so cheap, it is at the same time good, and everything one can desire when away from home. The best hotels in the Ardennes are not more than 7 francs per day inclusive ; here, at La Roche, 41 francs per day being the hotel price. As the three hotels are in the hands of one family, they are much alike ; the Hotel des Ardennes being most pretentious, the charge is half a franc more—i.e-, 5 francs per day. The situation is more open and airy, and worth the extra five-pence. The valley of the Ourthe, from Melreux to La Roche, is about eighteen kilometres (fourteen miles English). The road from Melreux is an ascent all the way, and on arriving within sight of the town, the road descends, as La Roche stands in a basin, with the river Ourthe running round for about three-quarters of it, so the principal part of the town appears to stand on an island. In the centre of this stands up, dark and frowningly, the ancient castle, a most picturesque ruin, with fir trees shooting out of its upper battlements. Its history is shrouded in mystery; part of it is said to go back to the times of the Romans. Around this, grouped in excellent form, are cottages and cafes, the mountain background and silvery stream completing a series of never-ending pictures, both for photographer and painter. La Roche and its beauties are practically inexhaustible —not so the space in your columns, so adieu. POSITIVES ON GELATINO-CHLORIDE OF SILVER. BY W. M. ASHMAN AND R. OFFORD. Seventh Article. Although we hive suggested methods of quickening the speed of toning emulsion films, we do not altogether recommend that the utmost rapidity attainable should be the desideratum sought after; indeed, to obtain a definite tone some measure of deliberation, rather than haste, will prove the more serviceable. Time is required to note changes in colour as they occur ; to remove toned prints from the gold solution, and replace them with others, which in turn require to undergo that process ; and, as a matter of convenience to the manipulator, the highest degree of acceleration is not beneficial. We consider that when the conditions necessitate each print remaining for a period of ten minutes in the toning bath, that operation becomes an agreeable and instructive pastime; besides which, it may be considered a fair average time for per forming the work. This condition may be secured by the addition of auric-chloride to emulsions, which would other wise tone slowly, as we pointed out on page 467, or it may be achieved by the means previously recorded. When a minute proportion of gold is incorporated in an emulsion, positives printed thereon require to be somewhat darker in order to allow for the loss sustained by bleaching; a like precaution is also requisite when using some other forms of emulsion, especially those which darken very rapidly and are of a dark grey or inky appearance when printed; these latter, although not advantageous by any means, we may remark, can be readily procured by con verting the silver into ammonia nitrate before mixing with gelatine, as in the bromide process. For the information of those who wish to test this plan, we may mention that the silver nitrate is dissolved in rather less water than we have formulated, and to about half the bulk strong liquor ammonia (-880) is added, drop by drop, which causes a brown precipitate of silver oxide ; sufficient ammonia is then added to re-dissolve this, after which the strongly alkaline portion is added to the other part, when it is ready for compounding with chloride or tartrate, as directed with plain silver nitrate. The citrate salts do not behave well with ammonia nitrate of silver, since silver citrate is soluble in that agent. The jelly, however, formed by such addition in a solution of gelatine darkens rapidly in daylight, but is altogether too poor to be of service for direct positive printing, unless an acid organifier be incorporated therewith. Emulsions of this description will print of a reddish-brown colour, and yield a rich image without materially slowing the sensitiveness, if the precaution be taken to add an excess of citric acid immediately before coating. This slows the toning con siderably, but the image is very little bleached in any of the toning solutions inordinary use. We have already stated that bleaching takes place more readily under some conditions than others, and that the presence of a restrainer is necessary to check this tendency ; so far as observation