April 28, ib'9S] 



NATURE 



609 



foregoing outline shows some of the principal points 

 described in the lecture. The subject is a far extending 

 one, and it is more important at the present time to obtain 

 accurate data than to suggest theories ; many other inter- 

 esting points have, in fact, already been determined. 

 The lecturer noted that the above experiments had been 

 made in^the Davy-Faraday Laboratory. 



ANDREE'S BALLOON EXPEDITION.^ 



ALTHOUGH the fact is not stated, this is a trans- 

 lation, and a singularly literal one, of the French 

 original. It is to be regretted that obvious printer's 

 errors or slips of the pen were not corrected ; for example, 

 "1892" for " 1882" on p. 14, "south" for "north" on 

 p. 280, and the somewhat serious misstatement of 

 Andree's last message on p. lo, which is the least excus- 

 able, as a facsimile with correct translation attached is 



the nephew and partner of M. Lachambre, describes the 

 transport of the enlarged balloon to Dane's Island in 1897, 

 the repair of the shed, re-inflation, and the casting off on 

 July II. Both authors describe their own work clearly 

 and well. They have nothing to say as to Andree's 

 plans, his theory of circumpolar prevailing winds, or his 

 probable fate. But the technicalities of balloon con- 

 struction, and the dexterous manipulations of the delicate 

 fabric as it was prepared far from workshops or ex- 

 traneous help, are lightened by the ingenuous impressions 

 of the two intelligent Parisians suddenly transported into 

 so strange a world. 



The balloon Omen was constructed as a sphere sixty- 

 six feet in diameter with a conical appendage. It was 

 furnished with two lateral valves for releasing the im- 

 prisoned gas at will, a large automatic valve to let the 

 gas escape whenever the internal pressure exceeded a 

 certain limit, and a rending flap intended to be used to 

 prevent bumping on finally alighting, and so constructed 



Fig. I. — The top of the balloon, showing the joinings of the pieces. 



given on p. 306. On p. 168 the translator computes 

 5000 cubic metres at 17,658 cubic feet instead of 176,580. 

 A somewhat infelicitous if not unintelligible paraphrase 

 of marking a pigeon's feathers with an india-rubber 

 stamp, is fixing on labels by the aid of india-rubber 

 wafers (p. 233). It must be stated, on the other hand, 

 that the English edition is much better printed than the 

 French, especially as regards the extremely interesting 

 plates, and that it contains an effective coloured frontis- 

 piece showing the departure of the balloon. 



The narrative is in two parts. The first, by M. La- 

 chambre, describes the balloon and the process of its 

 manufacture, the transport of the material to Dane's 

 Island in 1896, the erection of a shed, the inflation of the 

 balloon, the long waiting for a favourable wind, the de- 

 flation and return. The second part, by M. Machuron, 



1 "Andr6e and his Balloon." By Henri Lachambre and Alexis 



Machuron. With coloured frontispiece and 44 full-page illustrations 



from photographs. Pp. 306. (Westminster : Archibald Constable and Co., 

 [898.) 



NO 1487, VOL. 57] 



that a rope attached to a small grapnel, on being 

 thrown to the ground, would tear a great rent in the 

 side of the balloon, deflating it instantaneously. The 

 cubic contents were 160,000 cubic feet ; but this was 

 increased for the second attempt to 176,000 cubic feet. 

 The material used was pongee silk of double, triple, or 

 quadruple thickness, according to the part of the balloon 

 and the strain to which it would be subjected. The silk 

 was prepared in pieces of about 18 inches in width, and 

 the balloon was made up of horizontal zones, the joints 

 of each successive zone being alternate, as in brickwork. 

 When completed the whole was thoroughly and repeatedly 

 varnished inside and outside. While both Andr^e and 

 the manufacturers were confident of the gas-retaining 

 power of such a construction, we understand that some 

 experienced aeronauts view it with great suspicion, and 

 greatly prefer the old system of vertical gores. The 

 wicker car was fitted up with marvellous ingenuity, and 

 attached by a ring to a cord net thrown over the 

 balloon. A cap of varnished silk on the top of the 



