Airships past and present, together with chapters on the use of balloons in connection with meteorology, photography and the carrier pigeon . re probably surprised to find that theywere now to be allotted the sum of £240 to meet immediaterequirements. Still much good work was done. Renard hadcarefully considered the question of generating the gas, and had ORGANISATION OF MILITARY BALLOONING. 153 constructed an apparatus for generating hydrogen from sulphuricacid and iron, which worked well. In 1877 the castle at Chalaiswas placed at their disposal. Nearly a hundred years had elapsedsince it wa
Airships past and present, together with chapters on the use of balloons in connection with meteorology, photography and the carrier pigeon . re probably surprised to find that theywere now to be allotted the sum of £240 to meet immediaterequirements. Still much good work was done. Renard hadcarefully considered the question of generating the gas, and had ORGANISATION OF MILITARY BALLOONING. 153 constructed an apparatus for generating hydrogen from sulphuricacid and iron, which worked well. In 1877 the castle at Chalaiswas placed at their disposal. Nearly a hundred years had elapsedsince it was first put to a similar purpose, and Renard nowequipped it with all the necessary appliances. He arranged aworkshop, chemical and physical laboratories, gas generators,testing machines, and a meteorological observatory. It isastonishing to find what he was able to do. He had the assist-ance of a professional aeronaut, a sergeant, four sappers, and aropemaker, and between them they soon managed to construct aballoon. Laussedat indeed considered that he was too energetic,and proposed to apply to other purposes the sum of £8,000, which. Fig. 93.—Modern gas waggon. the Government had now allotted at Gambettas Renard contrived to resist this pressure, and it was thenarranged that he was to be allowed to proceed independently onhis own lines. After an inspection by Gambetta, the Govern-ment voted money for the further development of the work. Theestablishment at Chalais-Meudon was enlarged, and Captain PaulRenard was ordered to give his brother such assistance as herequired. Gradually the work proceeded, each company havingthree balloons; the two main ones were to be suitable for useeither as captive balloons or otherwise. The ordinary balloon, now employed, has a capacity of 19,000cubic feet and a diameter of 33 ft. It is intended to be filledwith hydrogen, and to take two passengers to a height of 1,650 ft. 154 AIRSHIPS PAST AND PRESENT. The so-called auxiliary
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