Any one who has wrestled with the orthodox focussing cloth in a high wind, will agree that it cannot be regarded as an ideal method of securing a well illuminated image on the focussing screen. In bright weather, too. when a strong light is reflected from the surface of the ground, and comes streaming in at every aperture left by the cloth, it is equaily difficult to determine the value of the lighting of the subject upon the ground glass. To obviate these troubles the writer has had in use for many years a bag srrange-ment made from a remnant of black velvet. One end has a piece of elastic band sewn in so that it will just slip over the back of the camera and remain taut. The other end is of such dimensions as to allow of its being slipped over the operator's head. By this means all extraneons light is blocked out, and the image appears with unusual brilliance upon the screen, enabling the worker to more accurately gauge the requisite exposure. It also permits of the image being seen distinctly all over the plate when the lens is stopped down, and a better judgment is possible as to the stop suitable in each instance. In interiors, where the light is poor, it is indispensable, and no one who adopts it will ever return to the old methods. - Photographie News.