No fewer than seven nations tried to win the Gordon Bennett Cup in the race which started from the Tuileries Gardens, in Paris, on September 30th. But the wind was in an unfavourable direction for the accomplishment of a long distance record. To some, the English Channel barred the way, to some, the North Sea.

The cup offered for the greatest distance covered has been accorded to the American aeronaut, Mr. Frank P. Lahm, who descended 15 miles north of Scarborough.

It will be seen in another part of this Journal that in December next, Members of the Aëronautical Society of Great Britain will hear an account of the Gordon-Bennett race from Colonel J. E. Capper, who took part in the race, having accompanied Mr. Rolls in the “ Britannia.” In this account, therefore, it will suffice to merely tabulate the competitors and results.

There was no great novelty about any of the balloons. They were all spherical, with the exception of the “ City of London,” which is pear-shaped. Nearly all had ripping cords attached, and most of them (but none of the English balloons) had small awnings over the valves. This latter arrangement may be most necessary in a long voyage, as if the balloon is exposed to rain quite a pool of water would collect over the valve, and if the balloon then ascends to a considerable height, this water may freeze, and, even though it did not prevent the valve opening, might render it useless by preventing the egress of gas. Several of the foreign balloons had valves of a rather peculiar pattern. Instead of having two equal semicircular doors, they had but one door, covering, perhaps, three-quarters of the disc of the valve.

The following are the principal details concerning my balloon, the “ Britannia,” which I used in the Gordon-Bennett Race: The balloon was constructed for me by Messrs. Short Brothers. It has a capacity of 78,500 cubic feet, and is made of a special material, and varnished with a new kind of varnish, which has got over the difficulty of heat generation when the balloon is packed up new. It is a very great advantage, having this new kind of varnish, as on the trial trip of the balloon from Messrs. Short's balloon ground last- month, the balloon was left packed up for a considerable time, yet, when opened out, it was found perfectly cold. The valve is of the French type, made by Messrs. Short. The suspension hoop is a new kind of their design.

There are two mechanical arrangements, heavier than air, which have been proposed for obtaining flight, namely, wings and aeroplanes. The latter is the one chiefly in favour with the public as there have been more or less successful experiments brought to its notice. There are, however, many advantages for a machine made with wings in imitation of a bird or flying fox as in Nature.

Wings with their large spread and slow motion give more effective action on the air than the small blades of a screw propeller. It is known from experiment that a large surface working slowly is more efficient than a small one working rapidly in a rarefied medium such as air, for the same power expended.