The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-08-02

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HY,JAMEs FREEMAN CLARKE.
From the Christian Bninn.1

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Atlantic in taii6of, Is looked UPON by mn NV,
persons as q .foolharuy undertaking No
doubt 1t is dangerous very dangerous.
The risk Is SO great that 1t would be wropa
70 venture IL there. ls, not fair prosnect Of
success and IL no good is to come from ac-
eompiishiDg the Journey, But neither of
these stiE,postdons Is, correct. The prospect
OF success Is SO great as to make It worth
while to try The eXper iment. And IT the
experiment Is successful the advantages to
follow 1t are almost incalculable. Mr.. Wise is
man OF great experience In balloon navga.
ton. We may be sure, then, Tint as far as safe
ty can be secured, and dangers prevented by
ample precautions, these will be taken. He
knows perfectly what accidents may happen.
| and what has caused disaster hitherto. He
KNOWS the lilting-power of gas required, tue
amount OF leakage, the amount Of loss BY
the necessity Of ascending and descending,
etc. we may presume that his balloon is
amply able to sustain him and his comtIat,ion
and their freight during the full time caIcu-
lated as necessary to cross the Atlantic, al
lowing for all probable delays. The only
great danger which remains, therefore, con-
| Germs the possibility Of finding the air-cur,
rent setting from west to east. If this is not
found; If the balloon is TO be driven help
Iessly to and fro, backward and forward,
| then, of course, the sustaining power must
he at last exhausted, and the ueeronauts be
deposited in the sea. But all the laws of
meteoroiogy, and all the observations of me-
teorologiSts, indicate a general upper cur
rent in the northern hemisphere from south
west to northeast. 1t is implied in the trade
winds, which, coming from the poles,
must return to them again. 1t is indi-
Gated by the frequent norlheasterly storms
| which, as is well known, move con-
stantly from the southwest to the northeast.
These great storm-clouds ARE so lofty that
| the largest part Of them is rooted in the up
| per current of air setting to the north and
| east. Their mass is always carried in this
current, no matter what may be the direction
of the winds below-just as the fleets Of ice
| bergs from the Arctic circle sail steadily to
| the south, no matter how the winds may
blow or the currents tend on the surface of
| the ocean. The icebcrgs are sunktso deep
| in the sea that their chief bulk is rooted in
| the lower current setting always toward the
| equator. SO the great storEn-clouds rise SO
| high that their chief bulk is rooted in the
| upper current of air, setting always toward
| the north and east. As soon as MIR. Wise
| finds himself in this current, he will he car
ried by it TO the coast of Norway or Dem
mark, and in few days be landed some
where in the Scandinavian regions.
But here new difficulty arises. If the
heroic navigator remains near the surface of
the ocean he will not find this great returl-
current of air, and may be driven north,
south, or west, and so never reach Europe.
But if he ascends high enough to reach the
steady westerly tide of air, how can he tell
his course at all? While near the sea the
rapid flight of the balloon will be transferred
to the waves below, and his compass will
tell him the direction Of his movement, as
being the reverse of these. But when he
| is so high us not to be able to distinguish the
lines on the water how can he know which
way he is moyng2 You may say by the
clouds. But will the balloon move faster
than the clouds? If be is in the same air
stratum with the clouds, probably not. II
in different one, then their apparent mo-
ton will result not merely from the direc-
| ton of the balloon, but also from their own
proper motion in the different currents of
air. This is difficulty which we cou-
Tess ourselves unable to resolve. An
other danger from travelling in the up
per afr-current may come from extreme
rarefaction of the air and extreme cold.
Even the storm-clouds of q summer day will
sometimes be so lofty as 10 rise into the re-
giou of perpetual frost. Every summer
| hail-storm is n proof Of this; for the best
explanation of hail is that tho upward sue
| ton of air in Il lofty cloud carries the drops
of rain up so high that they are frozen. and
thrown out at the top of the cloud, on either
side, rs Jumps Of ice. Let Us hope. there
| fore. that our adventurous navigator may
| find his westerly wind so low down as to tie
able to avoid these difficulties and dangers.
They, however, certainly incline us to the
/! opinion that the form which air-navigation
is ultimately to take will not be that of Il
balloon, but rather some imitation of Il
bird. The Duke of Argyll, in bis
Reign of Law, has very interest
| ing chapter on the fight of birds,
in which he shows that birds, by being
heavier than the air. have great advantage
over balloon. The ballooni is helpless in the
current, but the weight of the bird opposes
resistance to the air which enables HIM to
| direct his course. The final air-ship may
| therefore more nearly resemble a bird. 1t
will present a fiat or concaye surface to the
earth, and thin, cutting edge toward the
| air, which it is to penetrate. Some motive
power, as much greater than the locomotive
| as the locomotive with its tubular boiler is
more Powerful than the old steam engine,
will drive its wings. The wings must be
shaped like those Of Il bird, retaining the air
| in front By their stiff, unelastic edge, and
| letting it out behind by flexible and elastic
| foundations.
Meantime, the first great step will be
taken in az. ial navigation as 4 mode vi
travel, when it is demonstrated that bal
loon can be safely directed across the ocean.
| If Mr.. Wise accompanies this he will achieve
Il renown only second 10 that of Columbus.
For what arc the advantages likely TO result
| from Arctic researches around the pole, or
.cxplorations OF Central Africa, compared
with the gain to humanity which will result
from air navigation. These geographical
researches will lie included as Il small part of
| this result. When we Can guide balloons
north and south, cast and west, we can
travel to and fro over Africa, and soon be-
come familiar with all its deserts and water
courses. The poles may be later in giving
up their secrets to the balloon, but they
must at last reveal all their mystery To
the man who, in twenty-fJur hours, can sail
directly over the north pole from Greenland
TO kalnschatka. But consider the de-
light of air travel. No motion, no dust, no
noise. and perpetually unrolling panorama
below of sea and land, forest and city, noun
tain and river. No danger of explosion or
| of collisiou-no sea-sickpess, no wrecks. The
balloon will travel on tile bosom of the most
furious hurricane, and not a breath of air
be felt by the voyagcrs. The expense Of
travel will be much less, for balloon or a
mechanical bird will not cost as much as Il
steamer, and for land travel we shall be-
saved all expense for land surveys, cost Of
the land, grading and rails. Political and
commercial results of Importance mty also
follow. The friends Of free trade ought TO