CHAPTER XXXII. 

 NEW LOCOMOTIVE APPLIANCES. 



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 



I 



Fig. 475. Mr. Penaud's " High-flier." 



is the principal agent. Fig. 47 5 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 y 

 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 



