1818.] Mr, Dick on a Spired Oar. 441 



selves in the consideration of it. To say that a man devotes 

 himself to experiments on balloons, or wings, is considered to 

 be almost equivalent to asserting that he is deranged. But this 

 ought to be disregarded ; for the history of science points out 

 to us that many things once supposed to be impossible, have 

 been since accomplished by talent and perseverance. But a very 

 little time ago, a proposal of sailing to the North Pole would have 

 been considered fully as Utopian as if the projector had proposed 

 to fly thither ; yet we now see a whole rational nation bestowing 

 its energies in an attempt to accomplish the first of these 

 schemes ; and we look with at least a hope towards a favourable 

 result. 



Nil mortalibus arduum est. 



Were we never to attempt things of doubtful issue, the 

 onward march of the arts and sciences would be terminated. 

 It is certainly wisest to believe nothing to be impracticable until 

 it has been fairly and fully proved to be so, by the failure of every 

 feasible means within human reach. Let us, therefore, trust 

 that puerile prejudice may be put to silence, or at least despised, 

 and that those who have chosen so ambitious a career will com- 

 bine their exertions and concentrate the product of their labours 

 into a focus, which may yet produce something worthy of the 

 ingenuity of man. It appears to me that a spiral wing, some- 

 what on the principle of the oar invented by my friend Mr. 

 Scott, may be best adapted for giving a forward motion 

 to any vehicle employed in aeronautics. Any wing con- 

 structed of the ordinary shape, and calculated for the same 

 vertical stroke that those of birds have, would necessarily lose a 

 great deal of the power of suspension gained by its downward 

 flap during the time occupied in raising the lever to repeat the 

 blow. And although an accurate imitation of the structure of 

 the wings of birds might reduce the upward resistance to com- 

 paratively little, yet it would always amount to at least so much 

 as considerably to impede the progress of the body through the 

 air in a horizontal direction. But the spiral wing would produce 

 a steady and unremitting motion onwards without any of those 

 intervals of loss of power. 



Having the honour of being acquainted Avith several scientific 

 individuals who are privately occupied in experiments directed 

 towards the perfection of aeronautics, I feel anxious to make 

 them acquainted with this spiral wing, which I otier to them 

 with deference, leaving them to judge of the propriety as well as 

 the mode of its application. I am, Sir, 



Your obedient humble s< rvanl, 



Thomas Laudeu Dick. 



