THE
Practical Science Series
The following Vols. are now ready or in the Press:—
BALLOONS, AIRSHIPS, AND FLYING MACHINES.By Gertrude Bacon.
MOTORS AND MOTORING. By Professor HarrySpooner.
RADIUM. By Dr. Hampson.
METEOROLOGY; or, Weather Explained. By J.Gordon M‘Pherson, M.A., LL.D.
Others in Preparation
The Authoress, her Father, and Mr. Spencer
making an Ascent.
Frontispiece.
BALLOONS
AIRSHIPS AND FLYING
MACHINES
BY
GERTRUDE BACON
NEW YORK
DODD, MEAD & COMPANY
LONDON: T. C. & E. C. JACK
1905
| CHAP. | PAGE | |
| I. | THE ORIGIN OF BALLOONING | 9 |
| II. | THE COMING OF THE GAS BALLOON | 23 |
| III. | FAMOUS BALLOON VOYAGES OF THE PAST | 38 |
| IV. | THE BALLOON AS A SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT | 57 |
| V. | THE BALLOON IN WARFARE | 69 |
| VI. | THE AIRSHIP | 84 |
| VII. | THE FLYING MACHINE | 105 |
| VIII. | CONCLUSION | 119 |
BALLOONS, AIRSHIPS, AND
FLYING MACHINES
One November night in the year 1782, so thestory runs, two brothers sat over their winterfire in the little French town of Annonay,watching the grey smoke-wreaths from thehearth curl up the wide chimney. Their nameswere Stephen and Joseph Montgolfier, theywere papermakers by trade, and were notedas possessing thoughtful minds and a deepinterest in all scientific knowledge and newdiscovery. Before that night—a memorablenight, as it was to prove—hundreds ofmillions of people had watched the risingsmoke-wreaths of their fires wit