paper is then covered all over with a thin coating of printing ink,
and wetted in a bath of cold water. In a few minutes the ink leaves
the white or protected parts of the paper, remaining only on the lines
where the light has passed through the negative and affected the
gelatine. We now have a transcript of the drawing in printing ink, on
a paper which, as soon as dry, is ready for laying down on a piece of
perfectly clean zinc, and passing through a press. The effect and
purpose of passing this cleaned sheet of zinc through the press in
contact with the picture on the gelatine paper is this: Owing to the
stronger attraction of the greasy ink for the clean metal than for the
gelatine, it leaves its original support, and attaches itself strongly
to the zinc, giving a beautifully sharp and clean impression of our
original drawing in greasy ink on the surface of the zinc. The zinc
plate is next damped and carefully rolled up with a roller charged
with more printing ink, and the image is thus made strong enough to
resist the first etching. This etching is done in a shallow bath,
which is so arranged that it can be rocked to and fro. For the first
etching, very weak solution of nitric acid and water is used. The
plate is placed with this acid solution in the bath, and steadily
rocked for five or ten minutes. The plate is then taken out, washed,
and again inked; then it is dusted over with powdered resin, which
sticks to the ink on the plate. After this the plate is heated until
the ink and resin on the lines melt together and form a strong
acid-resisting varnish over all the work. The plate is again put into
the acid etching bath and further etched. These operations are
repeated five or six times, until the zinc of the unprotected or white
part of the picture is etched deep enough to allow the lines to be
printed clean in a press, like ordinary type or an engraved wood
block. I ought perhaps to explain that between each etching the plate
is thoroughly inked, and that this ink is melted down the sides of the