commercially, successful,
while tentative efforts have been made to utilise the aeroplane as
a mail-carrier. Still, from the view-point of the community at large
aerial travel is as remote as it was centuries ago.

It is somewhat interesting to observe how history is repeating itself.
When the Montgolfiers succeeded in lifting themselves into the air by
means of a vessel inflated with hot air, the new vehicle was hailed not
so much as one possessed of commercial possibilities, but as an engine
of war! When the indomitable courage and perseverance of Count von
Zeppelin in the face of discouraging disasters and flagrant failures, at
last commanded the attention of the German Emperor, the latter regarded
the Zeppelin craft, not from the interests of peace, but as a military
weapon, and the whole of the subsequent efforts of the Imperial admirer
were devoted to the perfection of the airship in this one direction.

Other nations, when they embarked on an identical line of development,
considered the airship from a similar point of view. In fact, outside
Germany, there was very little private initiative in this field.
Experiments and developments were undertaken by the military or naval,
and in some instances by both branches, of the respective Powers.
Consequently the aerial craft, whether it be a dirigible airship, or an
aeroplane, can only be regarded from the military point of view.

Despite the achievements which have been recorded by human endeavour
in the field of aerial travel, the balloon per se has by no means been
superseded. It still remains an invaluable adjunct to the fighting
machine. In Great Britain its value in this direction has never been
ignored: of late, indeed, it has rather been developed. The captive
balloon is regarded as an indispensable unit to both field and sea
operations. This fact was emphasised very strongly in connection with
the British naval attacks upon the German forces in Flanders, and it
contributed to the discomfiture of the German hordes in a very emphatic
manner.

The captive balloon may be operated from any spot where facilities exist
for anchoring the paying out cable together with winding facilities for
the latter. Consequently, if exigencies demand, it maybe operated from
the deck of a warship so long as the latter is stationary, or even from
an automobile. It is of small cubic capacity, inasmuch as it is only
necessary for the bag to contain sufficient gas to lift one or two