The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-06-26
HOW BIRDS Fly.
Mans Attempts at Aerial volitation
Are Mistaken Ones.

%@A0A . ASNOAPto az 1AOAAdl
Are Mistaken Ones.
From the Washington Star.
'The art of flying, If it is ever attained
by man, will be achieved by the application
Of principles far different from those by
which investigators up to the present time
have tried to gain that end" said an expert
ornithologist TO writer for the STAR I'm
almost all human attempts to navigate the
air it has been sought first to acquire a
buoyancy by which the aerostas and its
passenger should be given lightness suf-
ficient to enable them to float In the at
mosphere. This was considered the essen
tial thing after which the problems of
propulsion and steering were considered.
This is the error that has done more than
all others put together to set at naught the
efforts of experimenters IN this direction up
to the present time. To show how great a
mistake it is take the bird for an example.
They are not lighter than the air. but enor-
mously heavier II they were lighter than
the air theyfnight float, but they could not
fly. That is just the difference between the
bird and the balloon. The latter is lighter
than the atmosphere and floats upon it /;
thus it cannot be directed or propelled, be-
cause it contains no force wherewith to
resist the currents of air in which 1t Is i'm
mersed and no fulcrum to exert force
against. It becomes, as il were, a part of
the atmosphere, and must go wherever it
goes
Solomon, who was credited with such
unparalleled wisdom, said of the way OF an
eagle in the air that hes knew it not; but
however mysterious may be the instinct by
which the bird makes use Of natural forces,
the mechanical principles it employs in
flight are no longer mystery.
THE FORCE OF GRAVITY
1.-THE aeronaut's first effort is directed 10
overcoming the force of gravity, but that is
precisely the force upon which the bird
most importantly depends for its powers of
volitation. Gravity to the fowl Of the air
Is what the string Is to the kite; without it
the animal would at once keel over and fall
to the ground. To make my meaning clear
you must realize that gravity is a steadily
acting force to be worked against. 1t gives
which to ply its wings. The wings
are the levers: were the fulcrum
absent the wings would flap vainly.
To overcome the forces Of gravity the bird
depends upon the elasticity of the air,
which, like any other fluid, rebounds when
struck. The winged animal strikes the at
mosphere downward and is upheld, even
against gravitation, by the rebound
"Few persons have any notion of the
force ordinarily expended by bird in the
air. The heron, remarkable for its slow
and heavy fight, flaps its wings $50 times
minute. No one ever tried to count the
volitative pulsations of the pigeon and the
partridge, those of the latter being SO swift
as to leave only blurred impression on the
eye 1t Is interesting TO observe that the
dimensions of birds wing are always In
exact adjustment to the size and weight Of
the bird it is intended to lift.
CONSTRUCTION OF A BIRDS WING.
Another provision made in the adapta-
ton of the birds wing TO the purpose in view
is that the feathers, composed Of such light
though strong material, are made to under
lap each other, so that in the downward flap
the pressure of air converts the whole series
into one connected membrane, while in the
upward stroke they separate and let the air
through With as little resistance as possible.
"You ask how it is that the bird is able
TO move forward through the air. That is
a power due merely 10 the structure Of the
wings, which are rigid in front and exc
tremely elastic toward the ends, all the
feathers pointing backward. When the
wing is tapped perpendicularly the COM
pressed and resistant air sesks escape by the
easiest way. It cannot go upward through
the wing, because the feathers ere closed;
nor can it make its way out forward so
easily past the bent and rigid framework Of
bones in front But it finds ready exit
backward by lifting the elastic ends