THE KITE—THE AEROPHANE—ICE YACHTS—SAILING TRUCKS—WATER VELOCIPEDES.

The kite, known from the earliest times, and constructed by a number of people, is a very familiar object, which we shall not describe; for we will now speak of some similar appliances of a more interesting and uncommon description.

M. Penaud has invented some appliances in which twisted india-rubber is the principal agent. Fig. 475 represents a sort of kite, which rises in the air if one twists and then looses the india-rubber round the central bow. Fig. 476 represents another kind of invention; it is an “aerophane,” with a screw at the back, so fixed that it receives no shock from striking against any obstacle. After having twisted the india-rubber, and loosened our hold of the apparatus in a horizontal position, it will first descend for an instant, then, acquiring increased speed, it rises seven or eight feet from the ground, and describes a regular movement in the air for a distance of about fifty yards; the motion lasts for several seconds.

Some models have also been constructed capable of traversing a distance of over seventy yards, remaining for thirteen seconds in the air, as lightly poised as a bird, and without any connection with the ground. During the whole time the rudder restrains with perfect exactitude the ascending and descending movements as they occur; and we can plainly observe the various oscillations like those of sparrows, or more especially woodpeckers. At last, when the movements are coming to an end, the apparatus falls gently to the ground in a slanting line.

M. Penaud has also succeeded in constructing a mechanical bird, that we have seen set in motion, which will continue flying for several seconds; we give an illustration of it in fig. 477.

Another scientist, M. Tatin, has also produced some remarkable results. His efforts have been unceasingly directed towards the reproduction of the flight of a bird by means of more or less complicated arrangements. He has endeavoured to discover in the small appliances made with indiarubber, and used by MM. Penaud and Hureau de Villeneuve, what were the best shapes in which to reproduce the wings, in order to adapt them to a large apparatus acting by compressed air. After several attempts, he decided on the employment of long, narrow wings. Wenham had previously proved that a wing may be equally effectual whether it be narrow or wide, and M. Marcy has also declared that birds with a quick, narrow wing-stroke have always very long wings. By means of these long, narrow wings (fig. 478) M. Tatin has reduced the time during which the wing reaches a suitable position for acting on the air when it first descends. Granted the fact, so long established, that a bird flies more easily if it rests its wing against a great volume of air, it will be understood that the maximum speed of movement will also be the most advantageous as regards the reduction of expended force. The inventor, finding that he could not prevent his mechanical birds from losing force in proportion as they attained considerable speed, remedied this defect by placing the centre of gravity in front. In consequence of this, the bird in full flight preserves the same equilibrium as the bird hovering in the air, and its speed is, to a certain extent, passive, the mass of air pressing of its own accord against the wings, all expenditure of force therefore being utilized for suspension. Thus has M. Tatin been enabled to increase the weight of his appliances, without increasing the motive power, and yet obtains a double course.

The movement made by the wing round a longitudinal axis, by means of which it always exposes its lower surface in front on rising, is obtained by the mechanism illustrated in fig. 478 a.

M. Tatin’s Bird.

This apparatus, looked at sideways or from behind, is composed of a light wooden frame, on which are two small supports crossed by an axletree so as to form two cranks. This axle receives a circular movement from an india-rubber spring. The crank on the foremost plane causes the rising and falling of the wings, which move round a common axis, and pass the dead points as the cranks of a locomotive do—so the action is maintained.

But the wing does not only move as a whole; every part of it, particularly as it rises, shows a tendency to inclination, which is most marked towards the extremity; the part near the body alone preserves an invariable obliquity. M. Tatin was of opinion that it is with the screw that it is necessary to direct the twisting movement; and to obtain it with all its transitions, he has substituted for silk wings, which fold up, some wings composed entirely of strong feathers, arranged in such a manner that they slipped one over the other when in motion. The arrangement was perfect, but still not suitable for adaptation to the large bird. The inventor therefore again returned to the use of the silk wings, which he appears to have definitely adopted. By means of certain modifications which he has recently introduced in his larger apparatus—viz., a change in the shape of the wings, variation of the amplitude in the flapping, etc., M. Tatin has been enabled to make great progress. The bird, acting by means of compressed air, at first could only raise three-quarters of its own weight, but finally lifted itself entirely. And we must take into consideration that the apparatus has to struggle against the weight of the steering apparatus, which nullifying the vertical and horizontal reactions of the bird during flight, constantly fulfils the office of regulator.

We will now pass to the consideration of two ingenious appliances of a very clever inventor, M. Salleron.

Small Atmospheric Boat.

The little boat shown in fig. 480, which is about the size of an ordinary plaything, is a very ingenious, if not a practical, application of the specific lightness of air acting as a propelling force. In this instance steam plays but a secondary part, which consists in carrying off the air that causes the moving of the boat.

The apparatus, as represented in fig. 481, is of extreme simplicity, as will be seen at a glance. A small cylindrical boiler, B, connected with a capillary tube, is placed on two supports over a spirit-lamp, in such a manner that the opening from which the steam issues is directly opposite the mouth of the tube, T. This tube, after forming a sudden inclination, terminates at the back of the boat in an inclined drain, R. The steam driven through the tube, T, carries along with it a certain quantity of air, which, forced under the water, propels the boat along. The little vessel soon reaches considerable speed, leaving a long track behind it. It will be seen that this is not a mechanical apparatus, capable of absorbing force or diminishing the action of steam by causing its condensation.

Let us now calculate the force engendered by this apparatus. We know that a litre of water at boiling point gives 1,700 times its volume. The steam, as it quickly issues from the opening of the boiler, carries along at least ten times its volume, or 17,000 litres of air, which, driven under the water, assumes an ascending force equal to the difference of the densities of water and air, or about the weight of the displaced water. Therefore in a litre of water transformed into 1,700 litres of the steam, which carries off into the water 1,700 × 10 = 17,000 litres of air, a force is developed represented by 34,000 kilograms. In fact, by reason of the inclined position of the drain on which the pressure of air acts, and its restricted dimensions, the quantity of force employed in the propulsion of the boat is but a fraction of the total force produced. Moreover, the resistance of traction increases with the size of the boat, and as the dimensions of the inclined pipe cannot be indefinitely enlarged, the result is that the propulsive action is soon insufficient, so that the invention is not, in its present condition, applicable to navigation on a large scale. Its superiority to the steam-engine cannot, therefore, be demonstrated; and we are only now discussing the contrivance in order to show that it is possible, with only moderately powerful generators and extremely simple mechanical appliances, to obtain considerable dynamic effects, susceptible of more serviceable application than is commonly believed.

Circulating Fountain.

The apparatus given in fig. 482 is the subject of a very charming experiment, showing the influence of capillarity on the movements of liquids. Two glass balls, B B´, are connected by two tubes; one straight and of rather large diameter, the other extremely slender, and winding in and out in a more or less complicated manner. The large tube passes into ball B´, and forms a slender point, J, at the orifice of the narrow tube. At the lower end of the ball is a bulb, which is closed with a cork, and contains a coloured liquid. The apparatus is fixed to a board with a ring at each end, by which it can be hung on the wall. When commencing the experiment, it should be hung so that the ball B´ is uppermost. The liquid then flows through into the ball B, without presenting any particular phenomenon. The apparatus is then turned, and the liquid descends again with great speed, shoots through the opening, J, and rises into the twisted tube. The air displaced from ball B´ also rises, however, and mingles with the liquid, and it can be seen circulating through the winding tube in a number of air-bubbles, mingled with drops of liquid, gradually transmitting the pressure of the column contained in the upper ball and straight tube; so that by means of a similar phenomenon to that of the fountain of Nero, the liquid rises higher than the level of the reservoir, a part falling into ball B, which causes the experiment to be a little prolonged. This circulation of air-bubbles and coloured drops through the twisted tube of the apparatus has a very pretty effect.

The Pneumatic Pencil.

This ingenious invention is productive of results similar to Edison’s electric pen. It is the invention of an American gentleman, Mr. J. W. Brickenridge, of Lafayette, Indiana. The illustration (fig. 483) explains the mechanism of the pneumatic pencil. The whole apparatus is figured on the left side of the picture, while the longitudinal section of the pencil is shown on the right, the small cut at the top being a vertical section of a portion of the motive power. Compressed air furnishes the power of pressure, which is accomplished by means of a perforating needle.

If the treadle is put in motion, a backward and forward movement is imparted to a flexible diaphragm, as in the upper section in the centre of the illustration. By this movement the air is permitted to enter, and is compressed by the diaphragm into the flexible tube with which the diaphragm is connected. The air is thus brought into contact with another diaphragm at the end of the tube and presses on it. The pencil is fixed to the latter. When it is desired to use the pencil the apparatus is set in motion, and by a series of sharp, quick perforations, any writing can be traced, as by the electric pen. This indentation can be copied over and over again in a press, the writing acting as the negative; and if ink be first run over it, as in a stencil plate, by a proper “roller,” the latter will come out as plainly as possible.

Tube Wells.

The principle upon which the tube well depends is very simple. It is well known that in certain localities water lies a short distance beneath the surface of the ground, and a very little trouble would satisfy us upon the point, and render us quite independent of the water companies’ supply. On the supposition that the water exists underneath our garden at, say, twenty-five feet beneath the surface of the ground, we have only to drive into the soil a tube for that distance, and by the assistance of a common pump we shall obtain a pure supply of water.

We will now proceed to describe the manner in which these wells are sunk. The first step is to fix a platform firmly upon the ground and bore a hole, by which the tube is to enter the ground. This tube should be very thick, with an aperture of two inches or rather less, and three or four yards in length. The lower portion should be pierced with holes, as in the illustration, and terminating in a point of extremely fine-tempered steel. This tube can be driven into the ground by mallets, or by the suspended hammer, worked as shown in the illustration (fig. 484). This work will be easily accomplished, and when the first length of tube has been driven in, another can be fixed to it and hammered down in the same way.

When the tubes have been driven to the depth indicated it will be as well to let down a sounding line, a simple cord sustaining a pebble. If the stone be pulled up dry, another length of tube can be added, or the tubes can be pulled up, and another trial made. If, on the contrary, the pebble come up wet, the object is accomplished, and a small pump can be fixed to the upper end of the tube, as in fig. 485. At first the water will be found a little thick and muddy, in consequence of the disturbance of the soil and the particles adhering to the end of the first tube; but after an hour or so it will be found that the water has become quite clear. It need scarcely be said that if the water possesses sufficient ascensional force to rise to the level of the ground a pump need not be employed. An Artesian Well will, in that case, be the result.

The operation described on page 456 can usually be performed without any difficulty. Sometimes, however, the tube may come in contact with a large stone, and in that case the experiment must be tried elsewhere; but, as a rule, the pointed tube, in consequence of its small size and penetrative power, pushes any moderately-sized obstacle aside, readily turns aside itself, or passes between pieces of stone to the desired depth. Nine times out of ten the operation will be successful, and the experiment will not occupy more than an hour, under ordinary circumstances, and the tubing (and pump) may be obtained at a moderate price, which can even be diminished by arrangement. Ordinary wells are relatively very difficult to sink, and the soil thrown out from the pit is in the way, while a parapet is necessary to protect the opening. Besides, should water not be found after much work, the expense and trouble of digging will be uselessly incurred. Thanks to the tube system, we can search or probe for water anywhere with ease, and if we do not find it in one spot we can easily move on to another without incurring any serious trouble or expense.

We believe the idea of these “instantaneous wells” originated in the United States during the War of Secession, when some soldiers of the Northern army sunk rifle barrels into the ground, and obtained water in a barren land. To Mr. Norton the development of the idea is due, and in the Abyssinian Expedition the utility of the notion was fully demonstrated. Since that time M. Donnet of Lyons has modified and improved the tube-well, and arranged all the materials, including wider tubing and the hammers upon a carriage, thus giving greater facilities to the workmen and to those desirous of sinking such wells.

The general arrangement of M. Donnet, and the carriage with its equipments utilized, is depicted in fig. 484; the actual sinking of the well is carried out just as originally performed by Mr. Norton.

A New Swimming Apparatus.

We have to mention a novel means of swimming, which may prove useful to those who distrust the natural buoyancy of water and their own powers of keeping afloat or swimming. The simple apparatus, shown in fig. 486, is the invention of an American named Richardson, a citizen of Mobile, U.S.

The machine consists, essentially, of a shaft, upon which a float is fixed, and at the end of the shaft is a small screw propeller. The shaft is put in motion by a wheel arrangement worked by the hands, and by a crank moved by the feet. The swimmer rests upon the float, with his head well above water. The float sustains him, while the propeller forces him through the water, without his feeling fatigued, at the rate of about five miles an hour. A certain amount of practice is necessary to obtain complete command of the machine, but when mastered the swimmer can proceed, without much exertion, at a rapid rate. The apparatus itself is not difficult to make, and persons who have tried it speak highly of its convenience and of the facilities it may afford. Captain Boyton’s swimming-dress is another useful invention, but the means of mechanical propulsion are wanting, while in this new apparatus the swimmer can drive himself through the sea with ease and expedition, and even a non-swimmer may thereby save life without danger to himself, or the person he wishes to rescue.

The Nautical Velocipede, which also deserves some notice at our hands, is the invention of M. Croce-Spinelli, who tried it upon the great lake of Vincennes and also on the Seine, when it was the object of much curiosity; but when the Franco-German war broke out the experiments were discontinued, and the inventor did not live to perfect the apparatus. He fell a victim to his love for ballooning. But M. Joberts, a practical machinist, has lately taken up the idea broached by Croce-Spinelli, and has brought out a new water velocipede of very ingenious construction, with satisfactory results. The machine is described as follows. There are two hollow tin “floats” of cylindrical form, and tapered at the ends. These floats are joined together by a platform made of very light wood, on which the seat of the worker is raised, and underneath is the machinery for propelling the velocipede. The motive power is very simple, and corresponds to that employed to propel the bicycle on land, by the feet of the rider, the wheel being furnished with paddles in the water velocipede.

A rudder, which can easily be worked by cords, gives the velocipedist complete control of the machine, the steering being performed by a handle similar to that which the bicyclist uses to turn the machine he rides. In fact, the “water” velocipede is an adaptation of the “terrestrial” machine so familiar to all readers. This velocipede is equally adapted for sea or lake progression, the waves of the former being, under ordinary circumstances, no obstruction, for very little motion is imparted to the sitter. For those desirous to bathe in deep water the machine offers many facilities; and in the case of attack of cramp or faintness, rescue would not be difficult, as the swimmer could support himself upon the pointed cylinders of the water velocipede till assistance arrived. On the other hand, it is very necessary to know how to swim before attempting to work the machine.

Before describing the ice-yachts which are used in Canada when winter’s cold grasp lies on water and land, we will mention a very curious experiment in water locomotion made a year or two ago. The illustration explains itself. It is not an imaginary sketch, it is the record of fact.

This sagacious seal was exhibited in London, and was in the habit of performing certain tricks, one item of his performance being to draw the light canoe (as represented), and another accomplishment consisted in “striking the light guitar,” to the astonishment of the spectators, amongst whom was the writer. The instrument was placed between his fins, or “flappers,” and the seal twanged it more or less melodiously. He was very tame, and obedient to his master and trainer.

We all have heard of, even if we have not seen, the twin steamer Castalia, which, pending the opening of the tunnel beneath the Channel, was supposed to reduce sea-sickness to a minimum. The Castalia did not answer, however, but an American has planned certain double yachts, of which we give an illustration. The sailing-boats, as represented, have had much success upon the lake of Cayuga, and are quite seaworthy,—in fact, it is impossible to overturn them.

The weight of one of these yachts is about fifteen hundred pounds, and the draught six inches. Having two keels they answer the helm very readily. The boat, in the centre of the illustration, belongs to Mr. Prentiss, and is called the Pera Ladronia. It is a very fast “ship.”

From navigation in water, we now come to navigation on water. The ice-boats are much used in Canada, and their simple but effective construction will be readily perceived from the accompanying illustration. The Americans state that these ice-yachts can run before a good breeze as fast as an ordinary train. There are, or were, models of some such (Finland) yachts in the South Kensington Museum with two sails. The American yacht, as a rule, has only one sail, and the owners say—but we will not vouch for the truth of the allegation—that they frequently run far ahead of the wind that primarily propelled them!

Sailing on Land.

It is quite possible to sail upon land, although this statement may appear contradictory in terms. “The force of the wind upon sails,” says Bishop Wilkins in his work, “Mathematical Magic,” printed in London in 1648, “can be applied to vehicles on land as well as to ships at sea. Such conveyances,” he adds, “have long been in use in China and in Spain, as well as in flat countries, such as Holland, where they have been employed with great success. In the last-named country they are propelled with greater speed than are ships before a fair wind; so that in a few hours a boat containing several persons actually travelled nearly two hundred miles, with no trouble to any one on board except the steersman, who had little difficulty in guiding the boat.”

The astonishment expressed by the good bishop was quite justified, for, as a matter of fact, a carriage or boat on wheels, with sails, as shown in the illustration, achieved a distance of nearly thirty-eight miles in an hour. This pace was quite unknown at that time; such a rate of travelling had never entered the minds of people then. “Men running in front of the machine after a while appeared to be going backwards, so quickly were they overtaken and passed.” “Objects at a distance were approached in the twinkling of an eye, and were left far in the rear.” So it is evident that, had locomotion by steam not been adopted, the mode of sailing on land would have eventually become the most rapid mode of transit, and it is rather remarkable that it was never adopted as a mode of travel.

But Bishop Wilkins had not to reproach himself on this account, for he adapted the principle of the windmill to carriages, “so that the sails would turn and move his car, no matter in what direction the wind was blowing.” He proposed to make these sails act upon the wheels of a carriage, and trusted to “make it move in any direction, either with the wind or against it!” This suggestion has been lately adopted in the United States, and it is curious that after two hundred and fifty years no better mode for utilizing wind-power on land has ever been found. Perhaps the ice-boats already mentioned may be the forerunners of some new system of “land transport,” for which enormous kites have been made available.

It is somewhat remarkable that if the introduction of railroads quite “took the wind out of the sails” of any other mode of locomotion on terra firma, it is that very iron track which has led to the reintroduction of sails as a mode of progression upon the rails. In the United States at the present time there are many vehicles propelled by sails across the immense prairies at a pace, with a strong wind, which equals that of the trains. We are indebted to Mr. Wood, of Hayes City, Kansas, for the photograph from which the picture of the sailing-waggon, invented by Mr. Bascom, of the Kansas Pacific Railway, is copied. This carriage travels usually at thirty miles an hour, and a speed of forty miles an hour has been obtained when the wind has been high and blowing directly “aft.” The distance of eighty-four miles has been accomplished in four hours when the wind was “on the beam,” or a little forward of it, and on some curves with an almost contrary breeze.

The newest machine has four wheels, each thirty inches in diameter; it is six feet in length, and weighs six hundred pounds. The sails are carried upon two masts, and they contain about eighty-one square feet of canvas. The main, or principal mast, is eleven feet high, four inches in diameter at the base, and two inches at the top. As in the case of the ice-boats, it is claimed for the sailing carriage that it frequently outstrips the wind that propels it along the track. On the other hand, there is a difference between the best sailing points of the two kinds of vehicle. The ice-boat goes quickest with the wind “dead aft,” the carriage makes best time with the wind “on the beam”—i.e., sideways. The greater friction and larger surface exposed to the influence of a side-wind no doubt will account for the difference between the speed of the railway sailing-carriage and the ice-boat.

Mr. Bascom informs us that the carriage we have described is in frequent use upon the Kansas Pacific Railway, where it is employed to transport materials for the necessary repairs of the line, telegraph, etc., etc. It is a very cheap contrivance, and a great economizer of labour. We all have noticed the cumbrous method of “trolly-kicking” by “navvies” along the line. A trolly fitted with a sail would, in many cases, and on many English lines, save a great deal of trouble, time, and exertion to the plate-layers.