Evening star., 1902-01-11
One for Military Use Established
Near Here.
THE LATEST PATTERN ADOPTED
VIII Hold Four Ordinary Soarers
inflated.
SCHOOL AND CURRICULUM

Written for The Evening Star
The new national balloon park which our
army is building over at Fort Myer across
the Potomac. will be quite the most mod
ern post of the kind in the world when the
last finishing stroke upon it shall have been
added It win concentrate signal corps in
struction to one place, the posts at Fort
Logan. Col; the Presidio, San Francisco.
and San Antonio, Tex, having been abol-
ished.
One of the largest balloon barns in the
world has been erected within the new
park. This is great, rectangular, CORFU
gated iron building with a slanting roof
and great doors which throw open the en-
tite front end Of the structure. The size
Of these swinging doors gives some hint
as to the proportions of the monster which
will make it's exits and its entrances
through them.
A dragon is to abide within the iron walls
Of this great barn This dragon Is to be
employed to help fight Uncle Sans future
battles. II all things come to pass as they
are now being prophesied by army officers
this war dragon will belch forth fire, like
its mythical ancestors: will devour men by
the hundreds; will wipe formidable fort
resses from the face Of the earth.
Uncle Sans war dragon is the twin
brother Of the flying monster with which
the German army lately equipped itself. 1t
virtues of the man-carrying kite and cap
tive balloon; which eliminates the evils of
both. To stray rather broadly from classic
al simile, 1t may be best described as a
giant sausage tilted up on one end and
having a smaller sausage curled up over
Its lower extremity, after the fashion of
the squirrels tail. This smaller envelope
sucks up air which presses against dia-
phragm or partition within the larger en-
yeiope and thus keeps the covering of the
| latter always snugly tight, regardless of
how much the gas contained therein may
expand or contract. The entire balloon is
held by a. cable and remains poised at the
same angle which the kite presents to the
upper air currents. Like the kite it flies
higher and higher the faster the wind
blows. whereas the ordinary captive balloon
dips lower and lower as the speed of the
breeze -quickers.
The Dragon Barn.
The new dragon barn is as large inside
as an average church. II its floor were
| waxed, it would be an excellent ball room,
| At for large gathering. But In daytime,
when its great doors are shut, it is dark
and gloomy within
Just under the roof is hung a concave
rack of smoothly planed boards. This
serves shield, protecting the dragons s
yellow back from the bolts and corruga-
tions in the ceiling of the metallic house.
When the dragon is at home. this house
Will hold him and an ordinary pear
shaped balloon, both blown up to their ut
most capacity. When the dragon is out
the interior space will contain four of the
pear balloons, inflated
Inside the great barn is to be installed
every equipment for filling the monster and
his consorts with gas. For imitation hy-
drogen will be employed A complete plant
for its manufacture will be an interesting
adjunct of the big balloon house. smaller
corrugated iron building has already been
erected. The gas manufacturing and COM
pressing plant will later be installed within
! it.. The hydrogen will be compressed into
cylinders eight feet long. three or four
| inches in diameter, and with contents of
one cubic foot of the gas. very highly COM
pressed Hundreds of these tubes after
having been charged at the new compress
ing plant. will be borne to the balloon
house in wagons and connected to the main
valve of the new kite-baIloon by rubber
pipe.
| Two Other BALLOONS.
The army now has two other new captive
war balloons. Both of these are of the
pear-shaped class The larger is forty feet
| in diameter, has capacity OF Ia, 900 cubic
feet of gas and will carry four men Thr
smaller holds 13 600 cubic feet of gas and
will carry three men with all necessary
i signal apparatus.
The envelopes of these two pear-sbaned
balloons are made of goldbeaters skin. a
membrane taken from the entraiIs of the
bullock and subjected TO various stages of