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Wales. Mr. Henson, accompanied by his friend Mr. Ainsworth, was admitted
to a private view of the balloon, on Saturday last--when the two
gentlemen made final arrangements to be included in the adventure. We
are not informed for what reason the two seamen were also included in
the party--but, in the course of a day or two, we shall put our readers
in possession of the minutest particulars respecting this extraordinary
voyage.
"
The balloon is composed of silk, varnished with the liquid gum
caoutchouc. It is of vast dimensions, containing more than 40,000 cubic
feet of gas; but as coal gas was employed in place of the more expensive
and inconvenient hydrogen, the supporting power of the machine, when
fully inflated, and immediately after inflation, is not more than about
2
500 pounds. The coal gas is not only much less costly, but is easily
procured and managed.
"For its introduction into common use for purposes of aerostation, we
are indebted to Mr. Charles Green. Up to his discovery, the process of
inflation was not only exceedingly expensive, but uncertain. Two, and
even three days, have frequently been wasted in futile attempts to
procure a sufficiency of hydrogen to fill a balloon, from which it
had great tendency to escape, owing to its extreme subtlety, and its
affinity for the surrounding atmosphere. In a balloon sufficiently
perfect to retain its contents of coal-gas unaltered, in quantity or
amount, for six months, an equal quantity of hydrogen could not be
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