Mechaaical flight has been publicly 

 achieved in Paris by M. Santos Dumont 

 and by M. Tillippe. But the honour of 

 being the first to solve this classical pro- 

 Iblem of mechanics belongs to the Wrigti'i; 

 brothers, of Drayton, in the United 

 States of America. These brothers fol- 

 lowed up diligently for years the gliding 

 experiments of Lilenthal, which consisted 

 in maintaining a balance soaring down 

 a gentle declivity on a double-inclined 

 plane. The Wright brothers thus ac- 

 quired the art of controlling their equili- 

 brium on a machine heavier than air, 

 and, having thus diminished the personal 

 danger of the experiment, they applied a 

 motor to their aeroplane, and made six 

 recorded flights, ranging from 11 to 25 

 miles. They are mechanics by profession, 

 and, desiring to obtain a well-deserved 

 pecuniary reward for their labours, they 

 ceased experiments as soon as they had 

 solved the steering problem, so as to 

 evade the photographer and others who 

 might interfere with their obtaining pat- 

 ents, or keeping their secrets. 



The American (iovernment appears to 

 have stepped in, and prevented any offer 

 of the invention to some foreign power, 

 so as to retain the services of the Wright 

 brothers, and their future inventions for 

 national purposes. The Wright brothers 

 have since constructed a lighter and more 

 powerful motorj and it is hoped that they 

 will compete for some of the prizes re- 

 cently offered for the navigation of the 

 air. The total of these prizes now aggre- 

 gates between ^60,000 and <£70,000. 



M. Santos Dumont only flew 680ft. at 

 22 miles an hour, but he has just com- 

 pleted a new machine with a 100 horse- 

 power engine, and, if he knows how to 

 keep his balance as well as the Wright 

 brothers, he appears to have many great 

 prizes within his grasp, as it is doubtful 

 whether the American Government will 

 allow the Wright brothers to compete. 



The latest victory over the air, accord- 

 ing to Renter's Paris correspondent, is 

 operated by diminishing the pressure 

 over the curved surfaces of an aeroplane, 

 using rotating wings above it, so that 

 considerable weights are supported in the 

 air with little effort. There is a feature 

 ia this development which is specially 

 interesting to Tasmanians. Many months 

 before this announcement appeared. Pro- 

 fessor McAulay, of our University, in a 

 scientific discussion on the problem of 

 flight, expressed an opinion that the solu- 

 tion would be found precisely in th© way 

 in which M. Fillipe has made progress. 

 This is not the first time that genius has 

 worked independently, on the same lines, 

 in different parts of the world. 



But, the question suggests itself. How 

 do flying machines affect the material 

 progress of Tasmania? It is anticipated 

 that these machines, in the near future, 

 will not cost more than a first-class 



motor-car; they will, therefore, make it 

 easy for the prospector for minerals, and 

 for the surveyor looking after the inter- 

 ests of closer settlement, to begin his 

 work with a survey from aloft, instead of 

 cutting his way through dense bush; and 

 when lie has discovered something good, 

 he ^Yi\l not find it so difficult to keep in 

 contact with civilisation. 



Wireless telegraphy concerns Tas- 

 mania, because we hope to see this mieans 

 of communication become cheap, simple, 

 and efficient, so that it may be extended 

 t ' the outlying islands of this State with- 

 out delay. Several new systems have 

 been lately developed, and the difficulty 

 of interference has practically been con- 

 quered. 



A case is reported from Paris of a 

 youth and a maiden using an extemporis- 

 ed private wireless installation for amor- 

 ous correspondence, unknown to their 

 parents, which, in France, was looked 

 upon as more awful than it would have 

 appeared in an Anglo-Saxon community. 

 Id Germany Avireless telephony has been 

 successfully accomplished at a distance 

 of 20 miles. This fact is, however, of 

 little, if any, practical utility. Photo- 

 grapns have also been transmitted or re- 

 prodiiced as line drawings by electricity. 



Wireless telegraphy has been adopted 

 in Brazil to maintain communication 

 across tracts of bush country where the 

 upkeep of telegraph lines would be ex- 

 pensive. A company in America has 

 started wireless communication with 

 Scotland. Its first high iron support for 

 the aerial wire has been blown down, but 

 the promoters have not lost heart, and 

 are re-erecting it. 



The development of motor traffic may 

 be illustrated by an order of four thou- 

 sand cabs to run in the streets of Lon- 

 don. These will be provided with "taxi- 

 meters," which will indicate at a glanoe 

 the distance and the fare as they pro- 

 gress. The fare is now fixed at 8d. a 

 mile. 



In America motors have been applied 

 for logging, a precedent which might, m 

 some situations, be worthy of attention 

 in Tasmania. The use of alcohol for 

 driWng motors and for otber industrial 

 purposes is now well established in Am- 

 erica and in Germany. In the latter 

 country denaturalised alcohol for such 

 purposes is sold at 8d. a gallon. 



In the construction of lighthouses, a 

 novelty comes from America, where a 

 lighthouse has been built on a massive 

 iron foundation, which was towed to the 

 spot, to be sunk there and filled with 

 concrete. The method might be applic- 

 able to some localities on our coasts 

 where breakwaters are required. 



The demands on the Niagara Falls for 

 electric power have been increasing, and 

 have developed a curious problem with 

 regard to the current transported across 



