due to the fact that
the inventor of the airship of this name has but a superficial
knowledge of the various sciences which bear upon aeronautics, and fully
illustrates the truth of the old adage that "a little learning is a
dangerous thing." Count Zeppelin continues to work upon his original
lines, but the danger of his system of construction was not lost upon
another German investigator, Professor Schiitte, who forthwith embarked
upon the construction of another rigid system, similar to that of
Zeppelin, at Lanz. In this vessel aluminium was completely abandoned in
favour of a framework of ash and poplar.

The fact that the aluminium constituted a dangerous collector of
electricity rendered the installation of wireless upon the Zeppelin not
only perilous but difficult. Very serious disturbances of an electrical
nature were set up, with the result that wireless communication between
the travelling dirigible and the ground below was rendered extremely
uncertain. In fact, it has never yet been possible to communicate over
distances exceeding about 150 miles. Apart from this defect, the danger
of operating the wireless is obvious, and it is generally believed in
technical circles that the majority of the Zeppelin disasters from fire
have been directly attributable to this, especially those disasters
which have occurred when the vessel has suddenly exploded before coming
into contact with terrestrial obstructions.

In the later vessels of this type the wireless installation is housed
in a well insulated compartment. This insulation has been carried, to
an extreme degree, which indicates that at last the authorities have
recognised the serious menace that wireless offers to the safety of the
craft, with the result that every protective device to avoid disaster
from this cause has been freely adopted.

The fact that it is not possible to maintain communication over a
distance exceeding some 20 miles is a severe handicap to the progressive
development of wireless telegraphy in this field. It is a totally
inadequate radius when the operations of the present war are borne in
mind. A round journey of 200, or even more miles is considered a
mere jaunt; it is the long distance flight which counts, and which
contributes to the value of an airman's observations. The general
impression is that the fighting line or zone comprises merely two or
three successive stretches of trenches and other defences, representing
a belt five mile