130 EXPLORATION OF THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE 



Several days were spent in unpacking and mounting the meteorological 

 instruments and the kites, and in waiting for favorable winds. It was^not 

 until the 27th of June that the wind seemed of sufficient strength to warrant 

 an attempt to raise a kite. At this season of the year winds above 10 miles 

 per hour cannot be counted on daily, excepting for short periods. Beginning 

 at sunrise with a breeze of 5 or 6 miles from the east-southeast, the strength 

 increased by noon to 8 or 9 miles, with occasional higher velocities, but seldom 

 exceeded 15 miles per hour. 



To one accustomed to the rapid and extreme fluctuations of temperate 

 zone weather, the tropical conditions appear monotonously uniform; clear 

 skies with intense sunshine; a few patches of loosely formed cumulus clouds; 

 an occasional shower of short duration; a small range of the thermometer, 

 generally, at this season, keeping within the limits of 80 and 90; these are 

 conditions which may repeat themselves day after day for long periods. 

 Though the direct sunshine is intense, the atmosphere is not excessively op- 

 pressive, being moderately dry and seldom stagnant. So far as personal 

 comfort is concerned, these conditions are less trying than the warm, muggy 

 days of the coastal plain of the Middle Atlantic States. In these Islands there 

 is generally a sufficient breeze for comfort when not exposed to the direct rays 

 of the sun; from the warm, moist and stagnant atmosphere of the Middle 

 States there is often no escape, even under the shelter of roof or tree. 



DESCRIPTION OF FLIGHTS. 



A preliminary flight was made on June 27, between 11 a. m. and 1 p. m., 

 using the smaller 7-foot kite. The wind was east-southeast, and blowing with 

 a velocity of about 10 miles per hour. No effort was made to reach any con- 

 siderable height, the main purpose being to test the kite and apparatus. The 

 maximum elevation was slightly over 1000 feet. 



In all of the experiments conducted at Nassau, the kite meteorograph wa& 

 checked by means of an aneroid barometer and a sling psychrometer at the 

 surface just before the kite was raised, and at short intervals until the close 

 of the flight. In addition, the barograph, thermograph and hygrograph were 

 installed in the Nassau Cable Office, about three-fourths of a mile distant, by 

 the courtesy of Mr. P. H. Burns, Superintendent of the Bahamas Cable ; these 

 instruments in turn were checked frequently by means of eye observations of 

 the thermometers and mercurial barometer at the Cable Office. 



