At noon of the
same day he made this experiment in presence of a numerous
assembly in the garden in front of the Hotel de Surgeres.. The
little balloon mounted freely, but was held in, like a kite, by
means of a silk thread. In the course of the same afternoon, the
baron took down the balloon and filled it anew with hydrogen, and
then let it off. The spectators had the pleasure of seeing it
rise to a great height, and pass away in the direction of
Neuilly, and it is said to have been found at a distance of
several leagues, by peasants.
However trifling this experiment may appear at first sight, it
added a new fact to the science of aerostation. The material
employed by the baron was lighter and better than paper. It was
what is called gold-beaters' skin. This skin is simply the
interior lining of the large bowel of the ox. It is carefully
prepared, is relieved of the fat, stringy and uneven parts, is
dried, and is afterwards softened. Little balloons of this
material came to be the fashion, and they are still frequently
seen.
At the same time, Montgolfier was busy constructing, at the
request of the Academy of Sciences, a balloon seventy feet high
and forty in diameter, with which it was proposed to repeat the
experiment of Annonay.
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