Now I maintain that these alone form a very fallacious standard; first, because the color appears to the eye either lighter or darker, according as there is more or less light by which we inspect the coating; and secondly, because if it occur that we are deceived in obtaining the exact tint for the first coating, we are worse misled in obtaining the second, for if the iodine coating be too light, then an undue proportion of bromine is used in order to bring it to the second standard, and vice versa." The iodine box should be kept clean and dry.

The plate immediately after the last buffing, should be placed over the iodine, and the coating will depend upon the character of the tone of the impression desired.

Coating over dry iodine to an orange color, then over the accelerator, to a light rose, and back over iodine one sixth as long as first coating, will produce a fine, soft tone, and is the coating generally used for most accelerators.

The plate iodized to a dark orange yellow, or tinged slightly with incipient rose color, coated over the accelerator to a deep rose red, then back over iodine one-tenth as long as at first coating, gives a clear, strong, bold, deep impression.
I will here state a singular fact, which is not generally known to the operator.

If a plate, coated over the iodine to a rose red, and then exposed to strong dry quick or weak bromine water, so that a change of color can be seen, then recoated over the iodine twice as long as at first coating, it will be found far more sensitive when exposed to the light than when it has been recoated over the iodine one-fourth of the time of the first coating.
Probably the best accelerating combination is the American compound formerly known as "Gurney's American compound," or some of the combinations of bromide of lime.