TRAVELLING BY RITE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2006, 6 December 1888, Page 3

TRAVELLING BY RITE.

Somo forty years back a mania set m amongst roronautp, who believ. d tH«t carriages drawn by kites would euperacdo railways to a considerable extent. Among tho.-ie who followed this fascinating study wub Dr Pocock. an undo of VV, G Grace, the c'.iampion crickotor Dr Pocock made many journeys from Bristol to London m a littlo carriage drawn by a couple of large kites flying a quarter of >i milo or so iv the air, and he often attained a speed of fully 20 roiles an honr. It was thought, too, that kiUe would supersede bhls for ships, und, m ftct, for seme timo scientific England went kito mad. In order to thorough I}'1 }' understand the action cf tneso gigatitio kites (some of them were ac large as a ship's mainsail), a certain intrepid John Fahrenheit — who, we may observe, was no relation of the famona chemi.st cf that name — made several voyages of conßidarabio distances m a basket, an ordinary wickorwork affair, such as jb used by laundresses, ted to a kito. The kite was started m Rom ford, m Essex. It was attch°d to a pony chaise, which was co coufctnio.ted us to be easily ate red by means of kindles, tu-.h ag those on oP-'ashfoned tricycles. Jn the chaise sit two men, one a brother of the kite traveller, the other a wealthy gent'emuD who spent a considerable fortune m hare-brain exporimantß of this description.