SAILING ON LAND. 



403 



however, but an American has planned certain double yachts, of which we 

 give an illustration. The sailing-boats, as represented, have had much success 

 upon the lake of Cayuga, and are quite seaworthy, in fact, it is impossible 

 to overturn them. 



The weight of one of these yachts is about fifteen hundred pounds, and 

 the draught six inches. Having two keels they answer the helm very readily. 

 The, boat, in the centre of the illustration,, belongs to Mr. Prentiss, and is called 

 the Per a Ladronia. It is a very fast " ship." 



From navigation in water, we now come to navigation on water. The 

 ice-boats are much used in Canada, and their simple but effective construc- 

 tion will be readily perceived from the accompanying illustration. The 

 Americans state that these ice-yachts can run before a good breeze as fast as 

 an ordinary train. There are, or were, models of some such (Finland) yachts 

 in the South Kensington Museum with two sails. The American yacht, as 

 a rule, has only one sail, and the owners say but we will not vouch for the 

 truth of the allegation that they frequently run far ahead of the wind that 

 primarily propelled them ! 



SAILING ON LAND. 



It is quite possible to sail upon 

 land, although this statement may appear 

 contradictory in terms. " The force of 

 the wind upon sails," says Bishop Wilkins 

 in his work, " Mathematical Magic," 

 printed in London in 1648, "can be 

 applied to vehicles on land as well as to 

 ships at sea*. Such conveyances," he adds, 

 " have long been in use in China and in 

 Spain, as well as in flat countries, such as 

 Holland, where they have been employed 

 with great success. In the last-named 

 country they are propelled with greater 

 speed than are ships before a fair wind ; 

 so that in a few hours a boat containing 

 several persons actually travelled 

 nearly two hundred miles, with no 

 trouble to any one on board except 

 g ge onhfpe7^. century> fr ma the steersman, who had little difficulty in 



guiding the boat." 



The astonishment expressed by the good bishop was quite justified, for, 

 as a matter of fact, a carriage or boat on wheels, with sails, as shown in the 

 illustration, achieved a distance of nearly thirty-eight miles in an hour. This 

 pace was quite unknown at that time ; such a rate of travelling had never 

 entered the minds of people then. " Men running in front of the machine 



