Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/585

* KITE. 529 KITE. kite {Elnnus leururtis) has about the same range, but extends westward to California; lastly, tiie swallow-tailed kite (IJlanoidcs for/irutus) is found in siniuiicr as far north as .Minnesota and Dakota. This last species is the largest and finest of the group, meas.ning four feet or more across the wings; heiid. n('<k. and luider parts pure white: rest of upper parts, wings, and tail, glossy, lustrous black; tail 14 inches or more in length, forked for seven inches or so. (Consult Fisher. Hauhs and Owls of llie United Slates (Washington, 1893). See Plate of Eagles and Hawks. KITE (^o called apparently because soaring in the air like a bird). A contrivance consisting of a light framework, covered with paper or cloth and held liy a string in such a way that the wind acting U]X)n it, as upon a sail, raises it to a greater or less height above the gi-ound. The origin of the kite is doubtful, but it has been used for many centuries as a toy, particularly by the .Tapancse and Chiiu'sc. and has recently come into quite <'Xtendcd use in meteorological observa- tions, and for other useful purposes. Kites are made in various forms, the favorite form being, perhaps an isosceles triangle, the base of which becomes the top of the kite, and is surmounted by a curved rib. This framework is covered with tightly stretched paper or cloth, and has at its pointed end a tail composed of twisted scraps of ])a]>cr, tied to .a long string. The stiing for holding the kite during flight is attached near its top. In China and .Japan the form of kite is more diversified than elsewhere, birds, bats, drag- ons, and other creatures being imitated, and the framework being covered with silk or paper having various painted ornamental designs, ilodern kites for scientific purposes are generally tailless and constructed in one of two forms, known as the Malav and the Hargrave. four extremities; a sharp-pointed wire extended a foot from the top of the upright stick of the cross, a silk ribbon was tied to the end of the string which held the kite, the end next the hand, and a key suspended at the junction of the twine and silk. The kite was rai.sed by Franklin during a thunder-storm in .June, 1762, and almost immediately he had the satisfaction of experi- encing a spark on applyinsr iiis knuckles to the key ; and w hen the string l)ecanie wet by a pass ing shower, the electricity became abundant. A Leydcn jar «as charged at the key, and '>y the spark thus obtained spirits were ignited, and other experiments performed. Since the remarkable experiment of Franklin the use of the kite for scientific purposes has been greatly extended. Self-recording anemometers were sent up to a height of 2.500 feet bv F. D. Archibald in Fngland in 1882-86. (Coniult the volumes of aluic for those years.) In 188.5 and 1887 Alexander .Mc.Vdie used the kite to ex- plore the electrical conditions of the air up to 1000 feet above Blue Hill Observatory. In 1890 William A. Fddy began adanting his Jfalay kite to meteorological work, and thermometers were thus sent up by him at Bayonne, X. J., in 1891. In 1894 a Richard self-registering thermometer was sent up to an altitude of 1000 feet above ground by Kddy and S. P. Ferguson, at the Blue Hill Observatory of A. L. Rofch. and from that date onward Kotch has made kite- work a promi- nent feature in the meteorological investigations carried on at this observatory. The subject was taken up in 180.5 by Prof. W. L. Moore, as Chief of the United States Weather Bureau, where Prof. C. F. Marvin developed the mechanics of the kite and so improved the construction of the Ilargiave or cellular kite, of the meteorograph that goes up with it. and of the reeling apparatus on tlie gi-ound. that his complete outfit for daily FlQ. 1. r. S. WEATHKR BUREAU BOX KITE (AFTEIl .MARVIN). One of the first attempts to use a kite for scientific purposes was made in 1749 by Dr. Alex- ander Wilson, an Kdinburgh astronomer, who attached thermometers, probably of his own make, to kites, in order to determine the temperature in the clouds. After this came the familiar exiieri- mcnt of Benjamin Franklin, who demonstrated the identity of electricity and lightning. He con- structed a kite whose framework consisted of a cross made of two light strips of cedar: over thir, was stretched a silk handkerchief, tied to the work at any station is generally recognized as the best that has as yet bivn made. In 1898 seventeen Weather Bureau stations were equipped for daily lite ascensions. The Hargrave kite, as made by Professor Marvin, consists of a light framework of wood, so covered with cloth as to form two rectangular cells in front and one larger rectangular cell in the rear: the meteorograph hangs from the centre of the midrib. It is neces- sary for the kite to lift its own weight, eight ])onnds ; that of the meteorograph, two pounds;