Evening star., 1941-03-23

areas has often proved life-saver'
at sea, where it has been used to
fly life lines to stranded ships.
Weather bureaus use kites to lift
meteorological instruments which
register variations in temperature.
air pressure, humidity and wind.
Measurements are taken at different
elevations by changing the height at
which the kite is flown.
Advertising men. always in search
of new ways to put their messages
before the public, also have given
the kite a job holding up banners.
Fishing With Kites.
Kites are even used for fishing.
If you think this is recent de-
velopment, you're wrong; Aristotle
referred to kite-fishing 1000 years
ago! The purpose of fishing with
kite is to drop the bait into the water
considerable distance from the
boat. This is accomplished by run
ming the fishing line along the kite
cord for the desired length. In
addition to carrying your bait, the
theory is that the kite also prevents
big fish from running away with
your line. This type of fishing,
which was once practiced in Amer
lea. is still popular with natives in
the South Seas.
The kite has been used by both
the Army and the Navy for the
ticklish job of floating torpedoes
against enemy positions. And it
has been employed in signaling and
in photographing forts or other stra-
tegic points held by the enemy.
In kite photography a camera,
whose shutter is controlled by an
electric wire or by clockwork, is
lifted over the spot to be photo
graphed. When the right spot is
reached and the shutter clicked, the
aerial snapshot is hauled back to
the operator to be studied for its
military value. w. A. Eddy, stu
dent Of kites, once used eight
cameras strapped together. All of
the shutters opened at once and he
was rewarded with complete view
Of the horizon.
Kites Lifting Power.
Military men have used kites to
lift men for observation purposes.
In 1894, Capt. B. F. S. Baden-Powell
of the Scots Guards, who weighed
$50 pounds. was able to lift himself
100 feet into the air with a tandem
of five kites. A few years later 1t.
Id. Wise of the United States
Army made a kite which lifted 229
pounds to height of AZ feet. This
lifting or pulling power of kites has
been the subject of much research.
One writer describes a kite which
took the place of horse and pulled
a wagon with two men in it along a
beach. He also tells of huge kite
used to pull beat, and says it took
the combined efforts of six men to
haul it in.
The kite even has religious back
ground. its oldest known use being
as part of the ceremonies of savage
tribes. The Maoris of New Zealand
still include kite flying as a part of
their rituals, singing a chant called
the kite song" as the kite rises into
the air. These natives were prob
ably the first to fly kite, although
credit for the invention is usually
given to Archytas of Tarentum, who
is supposed to have made the first
kite around 400 BIC.
The name of the kite comes from
the bird of the same name-a
forked- tailed member of the hawk
family. Kites are often made seven
feet in height or breadth, and one
or record measured 36 feet in height.
Flying a kite / or 2 miles high on
a good day is not hard Job, but
attitudes of more than miles are
seldom reached. However. on No.
vember 20, 1905, in Prussia, a series
of kites flown in tandem reached a
height of 4 miles. The usual cord
isn't strong enough for great heights,
so if you decide to try for distance
use steel piano wire.
In China and Japan, where they
take their kites seriously, kite flying
is the pastime of adults. Shopkeep-
ers often fly them while waiting for
their customers. In China the ninth
day of the ninth month is set aside
as kite day" and all the men and
boys get out their kites and vie with
each other on neighboring hills.