The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1878-08-09
4 Giant captive.
rH \ ranossr BALLOON N THs WORLD

balloon OF the Daily Graphic, though it can
hardly he considered as other than one OF
fine things that might have been, contained
4on. 600 feet. The French t'F'esseiies,
which, till our latest monster was mace, was
the largest thing OF the KIND on RECORD,
though dating as far back as 1854, contiheu
,about SOC, 900 feet, or = little more tnan nan
"a much as the one with which FTencnineb
ore now prepared to challenge the WorlG.
IN nronoftion 10 the toy balloons which the
Partisan shopkeepers give away to children,
This last Is as the sun to the earth; and 1t Is
ms the sun to Jupiter in proportion to Inc
fuIl sized balloons OF ordinary make. lts
weight is Just a fraction short OF three tons.
Neither money nor labor has been spared
20 make it a model OF scientific construction
I'm every detail. The envelope Is formed OF
seven tbicknesses OF stuff, is perfectly ar
tiohf. and Of extraordinary strength. flrst
ION the ,nside) comes tissue OF muslin, then
a skin OF India-rubber, then covering OF
stout linen. a second skin or lndia-ruhDer'
second skin Of linen, finally, thickness
of India-rubber, with another tissue OF mus
lin that bears coating OF yarnish over all.
A sample-piece ten feet square OF this seven Zen.
fold envelope would weigh about two
mounds. Undismayed by Buffers satire on
The man who made science serve the most
familiar uses and applied
The geometric scae
To take the size OF pots oil ale
The engineer has cut out his musiin ana LII
.Ii:,.r1,bber for the covering on the princl-
ples OF trigonogetry. In fact the balloon
is vigorously work OF applied science from
first to last. The pressure OF the wind, Tor
instance, has been nicely calculated IN order
30 insure it safe anchorage. The 1asten-
ipgs would resist up to pressure OF 2oo
kiloerammes to the square metre, Whlle In
the interior OF Paris, where the balloon Is
moored, q pressure Of ten kilogrammes IS
almost unknown. The Csc yards OF cable
have been tested by engineers specially
delegated by the Project OF Police.
This cable runs from the lower part
of the balloon through specially
constructed tunnel under the Place
du Carrousel. and at its other extremity IS
wound round an immense drum worked by
steam-power. The car weighs over thirty
four tons and holds fifty persons. lt~ls
Drettily draped and otherwise ornamented,
and it is enveoped In netting destined TO
confound ali projects Of suicide on the part
of its inmates. For the benefit OF those
who have no desire to take such mean 40
vantage OF an opportunity three skilled
aeronauts-the two Godards and NJ. Camille
d'Artois-will superintend the ascents, and
the balloon will contain every appli-
ance for an extended voyage in cloudland
to minimize The dangers that might result
from the accidental breaking Of the cable.
The constructor-one might almost say
the INVENTORIES NJ. Gitfard, railway en-
eineer OF eminence, who is also million
ARE. Aerial navigation is and always has
been his hobby, and in 1852, when he was
quite young man, he obtained leave to make
an ascent in small balloon OF bis own con-
struction, fitted with screw-steering ap-
paratus worked by steam-poWer. He was
Door at that time, and unknown. His first eS-
periment was, in his opinion, brilliantly sue
cessfui, as it established the possibility OF
finding in the air that "point Of support" or
leverage which is the necessary basis OF all
steering operations. He was talking in all
confidence OF repeatingi it, when he was told
that this could not be done. The days were
drawing in; the public, it was feared, might
not come to the Hippodrome in sufficient
numbers to make the speculation pay; and.
besides, the gas company, in the exceed
ingly humble state Of its resources, feared
that If it continued to supply N. Giffard
with gas for his search after the scientific
Digit it might have to leave Paris in the dark.
1t was lesson for the young experiment
alist. lie saw that ardor, courage, and pa
tience were not enough-that he must have
money as well. He accordingly went back
TO his railway-engineering, and invented Il
mode of filling the boilers by the use OF a
simple Jet of steam Instead of the pump.
which brought him in millions in the course
OF q few years. The money made, he went
back to balooning, and he has laid out
800, 900 francs OF it in building the present
giant of giants. The cost is his and his
alone, from first to last, and this is not al Of
it; he pays another 100000 francs for the
rent of the useless courtyard of the Tui4e-
ries (behind the railing), is which the BAL
loon stands.
The balloon is intended toserve as a COM
plete and abiding observatory for aerial re-
search. It's present work, when in the
"captive" condition, will relate chiefly to
those unsoked problems Of interest in re-
gard to the distribution OF heat and mois-
ture in the layer or envelope Of airlying
nearest to the earth-say ironthe surface
to height Of 500 metres. The prime con-
dition Of its usefulness as permanent OBJ
seryatory consists. Of course, in the dura-
bility OF the material and its power Of re-
tanning the gas (bydrogen) for ali indefinite
period. Hence the extraordinary care in
the manufacture Of the air-tight covering.
NJ. Gitfard believes that this balloon, once
filled, will keep its form and buoyancy until
he chooses to give the order for its collapse.
Ordinary balloons, it. is known, de not wait
for the. order; leakage commences from the
moment OF completed imitation.
The first ascent was made on Sunday at
800, und. az / have said. when hardly any
one was expecting il. The wind was fayora-
BILE, the afternooa fair: sBd calm, and up
they ,went--fouTteea only;instead OF tketifty
that might have found room in the car. NJ.
Giffard remained below to suDerintend the
working OF the nashineryraad to carry out
the directions Of the aeronaIt. The smaller
cords were unfasteBad, the stears-engine that
unwinds the cable was set in motSon, and the
monster moved quickly and mai as ically into
the afr without tremOr. Paris was bathed
IN sunlight and was seer,at its best. 1T
was spectacle more easily imagiaed than
described writes an eyewitness. .aObjects
were lost one by one in the distance yet not
a current of air nor any mosament W hateyer
indicated the :rapidity of the ascent. But
what a coap-d,pii, at once splendid and
curious. when we turned our gaze to earth!
Beyond the car stretches the splendid piano.
rama OF Paris empurpled by the sun. Never
has the great city seemed so beaHtiful- here
the yast extent OF the Champs Eiysees, like
an oiLpainting with sthe yerdure of an ,ex-
traordinary intensity; the Avenue Of the
Arc de Triospphe, straight as letter 4; !thenA
the zig-zsss OF the Seine. which sparkles 4
like river OF silver; the hills of Bellevue
and OF MeDGon; the immense horizon Of
the plain, with its villages scattered In the
distance. Suddenly the spectacle changes.
Without our teeaa1g the slightest motioa, |
the ear has turned on itself. Now we see
The Cite, with its triangle in Advance on the