The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-11

seems solid. This latter was the cause Of
my friend Nocquet's landing where he
did and sacrificing his life.
Forests become smooth like pasture land.
Railroad trains are like crawling worms
and all the earth sounds eventually cease.
At n or two thousand feet you pass the
dust line, which is as clearly marked as
the line between water and air.
A high as two thousand feet there are
still frequently seen butterflies, mosquitoes
and other insects. Remarkably beautiful
effects Of clouds are seen from the balloon.
They often seem like snow banks and
their edgs are always blush like water
and ever give the aeronau the sensation
of approaching the ocean.
When in the clouds you a see only
the basket and its occupants; and
suddenly pass out Of them to find that you
are driving straight into a mountain peak.
as we did once. II you stay in the fog there
is nothing to warn you OF such a danger
except the roaring Of the wind in the tree
tops, and a quick casting out Of ballast
may be necessary TO save you from balloon
wreck on the crags.
II may interest the reader to hear some
thing about the construction Of a big mod
ern balloon and its equipments. 1t Is made
Of what is known as balloon cloth, which
sometimes is of silk and is sewn in small
sections of about a yard square so that
If one OF the sections should burst the whole
balloon would not collapse and destroy the
a~eronaut.
AT the top of the bag il the valve to let
the gas out when one wishes to descend.
A o p for opening 1t runs from this valve
through the centre Of the balloon to the
operator in the basket. The balloon l. filed
through the neck, and this IL left always
open, so that when the gas expands from
the heat of the sun or the lesser pressure
Of high attitudes, the gas may escape and
not burst the envelope.
As soon as the balloon is sewn together
IL Ia hlnUn full IF air and 0iyan fhF0A nnafl
Of varnish. Each coat must be allowed to
dry thoroughly before the next il applied,
or else they would never become perfectly
dry and the balloon would be likely to be
destroyed at any minute from spontaneous
combustion.
This spontaneous combustion ~ not a
bursting into flame, but a kind OF exceed
ingly quick dry rot. | myself have lost
three balloons through il. Once. in my
factory we were looking at a beauty when
some one shifted the air and remarked:
-Thomas's balloon is gone, and so It proved
to be. Five minutes saw it destroyed
rotten so that you could poke your finger
through IL.
only a few sections, and a man may make
an ascension thinking his balloon Is all right.
Prote Esd by the fine netting which envelops
theI al Don Itself he may even get up to some
heighC before discovering his danger. In
former times there were many fatal acct
dents from this cause.
When a balloon is packed talcum OF some
other powder Is sprinkled over the folds
TO keep them from adhering to each other.
II this is neglected the balloon will be ruined,
especially in hot weather.
As I said, a fine netting covers the balloon
o both to strengthen 1t and TO carry
the weight Of the basket n its contents.
All the strands Of the netting come together
In the concentrating ring, lust above
the basket in which the aeronaut stands.
Tha anchor and 0uide rOUa. as we'll IA the
basket, are fastened to this concentrating
ring.
All modern balloons, besides the valve,
have a rip cord, fastened to a long patch
sewn In the envelope, by means OF which
the balloon can be cut open and brought
except in cases OF extreme emergency and
when the basket In within ten or fifteen
feet OF the ground.
The most humorous side OF b~allOoning
comes from the fellows with schemes. One
man declared that there IL an opposite 10
everything. Heat has cold; hardness has soft
ness: light has darkness and that Of graV-
itation alone the opposite has not been found.
When he discovers the opposite OF gravita-
ton he feels that he will Nave solved the
problem OF aerial navigatiOn-as doubtless
he will.
Another man has a plan for rising 10 the
surface Of the atmosphere and then skim
ming along tho top asa boat foo II ON water.
lie would carry along some oxygen for
breathing purposes.
A lady over in Jersey has heard that
certain flowers generate hydrogen gas.
She wishes to combine the ornam mental
with the a%eronautic by taking a lot OF these
lowers into an airship, suitably built, and
The nam Of my balloon Is NIrvana, that
best expressing b state into which Il
Transports rs devotees.
49, ~