The image will begin to show on a properly exposed plate within one to three minutes after it has been put in the developer. If the image appears almost instantly, and then recedes quickly, the plate is badly overexposed, and should be thrown away. In case it “comes up” less quickly, indicating that it is not greatly overexposed, it can be saved by the addition of more bromide. When the image does not show till the end of five to ten minutes, the plate has been underexposed. It is then necessary to add more “pyro,” taking care not to pour it on the plate, and, after the image appears with its striking contrast, to leave the plate in water until as much detail as possible is brought out in the shadows. In the case of a normal exposure, when greater detail is desired, the negative is left for some time in water, and when contrast is sought more “pyro” is used. Negatives with unusual detail lack “snap”; they are “flat,” and fail to make artistic pictures. Contrast, on the other hand, often obscures detail, and the best results can only be obtained by a happy combination of the two. The most important maxim in developing is that the process shall be continued until the image has become indistinct. The universal tendency of the beginner is to remove the negative the moment the outlines grow dimmer, and the result is a thin, lifeless negative. It is almost impossible to develop too far, if the image is not allowed to disappear. Negatives of this sort are “thick,” and though they print more slowly, produce brilliant pictures. A large quantity of the developing solution is used with single plates in small trays, and is allowed to act without rocking the tray. Much time is saved, however, by developing several plates together, and to avoid using a large quantity of the solution, the tray is gently rocked from time to time. This movement is particularly necessary at the beginning, in order that the plates may be covered evenly, and at once. Fifty cubic centimeters of the solution will develop three or four 6½ × 8½ plates, and twice as many 4 × 5’s. After the developer has once been used, it is kept for several days to restrain overexposed plates. As soon as the plate is developed, it is rinsed in water, and placed in the fixing fluid, until the white opaqueness is entirely removed. The “hypo” is then washed out by immersing the negatives for one to two hours in running water. If the latter can not be secured, the water in which they are placed should be changed frequently. The negatives are then air-dried within doors, in a place free from dust. Finally, they are filed away in negative envelopes, each bearing the name and number of the negative, and preferably also, the time and other exposure data.