Page:Travels in the Air, Glaisher, 2nd ed.djvu/64

24 made on the Continent, and several attempts have been made in England, both by free and captive balloons, to study systematically the phenomena of the atmosphere.

In 1838 and 1850, Mr. Rush ascended several times with Mr. Green, and made some observations mainly on humidity. Public attention was aroused to a certain extent, but the ascents were chiefly known from an incident which occurred at the end of one of them. The balloon descended in the sea near Sheerness, and the car was dragged through the water with considerable rapidity; the balloon acting as a kite. Mr. Green therefore threw out the grapnel, which caught in a sunken wreck, and detained the balloon till a boat came up and secured the voyagers. A volley of musketry was fired into the balloon to admit of the escape of the gas, and it was ultimately secured.

Soon after the discovery of the Balloon, a desire arose for experiments in the higher regions of the air. The first experiments, as I have previously stated, were made at St. Petersburg, by command of the Emperor of Russia, by Mr. Robertson, in the years 1803 and 1804, but no important results were obtained.

In the year 1804 two experiments were made at Paris: the first on August 31, by Gay-Lussac and Biot. These gentlemen ascended to the height of 13,000 feet, but did not commence their observations till they were 7,000 feet high. Their experiments in magnetism, electricity, or galvanism, gave results identical with those made on the earth — a source of much disappointment to every one.

It was then supposed that they had not ascended high enough, and Gay-Lussac resolved to go alone, with the view of reaching a greater elevation. This he succeeded in doing on the 10th of September following, when he reached a height of 23,000 feet, and found a decline of temperature from 82° to 15°; almost confirming the theory of a decline of temperature of 1° in 300 feet of elevation. The sky was very blue, and the air was found to be very dry. A magnet took a longer time to vibrate than on the earth. He filled two bottles with air from the higher regions, which on analysis was found to be in its component parts the same as the lower air.

Two years after this, the Astronomer Royal of Naples, Carlo Brioschi, wished to ascend higher than Gay-Lussac, but this he was unable to do in consequence of the Balloon bursting. After this no attempt was made till the year 1543, when the British Association appointed a committee and voted a sum of money for experiments by means of captive balloons. Several committees were subsequently appointed, and out of the limited resources of the Association considerable sums