also the cost of gas, &c., so that the expense of each high ascent amounted to nearly £50. An observer being still wanted, James Glaisher, a member of the committee, offered himself to take the observations, and accordingly the first ascent was made on the 17th of July 1862, from the gas-works at Wolverhampton, this town being chosen on account of its central position in the country. Altogether, Glaisher made twenty-eight ascents, the last being on the 26th of May 1866. Of these only seven were specially high ascents, although six others were undertaken for the objects of the committee alone. On the other occasions he availed himself of public ascents from the Crystal Palace and other places of entertainment, merely taking his place like the other passengers. In the last six ascents another aeronaut and a smaller balloon were employed. The dates, places of ascent and greatest heights (in feet) attained in the twenty-eight ascents were—1862: July 17, Wolverhampton, 26,177; July 30, Crystal Palace, 6937; August 18, Wolverhampton, 23,377; August 20, Crystal Palace, 5900; August 21, Hendon, 14,355; September 1, Crystal Palace, 4190; September 5, Wolverhampton, 37,000; September 8, Crystal Palace, 5428. 1863: March 31, Crystal Palace, 22,884; April 18, Crystal Palace, 24,163; June 26, Wolverton, 23,200; July 11, Crystal Palace, 6623; July 21, Crystal Palace, 3298; August 31, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 8033; September 29, Wolverhampton, 16,590; October 9, Crystal Palace, 7310. 1864: January 12, Woolwich, 11,897; April 6, Woolwich, 11,075; June 13, Crystal Palace, 3543; June 20, Derby, 4280; June 27, Crystal Palace, 4898; August 29, Crystal Palace, 14,581; December 1, Woolwich, 5431; December 30, Woolwich, 3735. 1865: February 27, Woolwich, 4865; October 2, Woolwich, 1949; December 2, Woolwich, 4628. 1866: May 26, Windsor, 6325.
The primary object of the ascents was to determine the temperature of the air, and its hygrometrical state at different elevations to as great a height as could be reached; and the secondary objects were—(1) to determine the temperature of the dew-point by Daniell’s and Regnault’s hygrometers, as well as by the dry and wet bulb thermometers, and to compare the results; (2) to compare the readings of an aneroid barometer with those of a mercurial barometer up to the height of 5 m.; (3) to determine the electrical state of the air, (4) the oxygenic condition of the atmosphere, and (5) the time of vibration of a magnet; (6) to collect air at different elevations; (7) to note the height and kind of clouds, their density and thickness; (8) to determine the rate and direction of different currents in the atmosphere; and (9) to make observations on sound. The instruments used were mercurial and aneroid barometers, dry and wet bulb thermometers, Daniell’s dew-point hygrometer, Regnault’s condensing hygrometer, maximum and minimum thermometers, a magnet for horizontal vibration, hermetically sealed glass tubes exhausted of air, and an electrometer. In one or two of the ascents a camera was taken up.
The complete observations, both as made and after reduction, are printed in the British Association Reports, 1862–1866; here only a general account of the results can be given. It appeared that the rate of the decline of temperature with elevation near the earth was very different according as the sky was clear or cloudy; and the equality of temperature at sunset and increase with height after sunset were very remarkable facts which were not anticipated. Even at the height of 5 m., cirrus clouds were seen high in the air, apparently as far above as they seem when viewed from the earth. The results of the observations differed very much, and no doubt the atmospheric conditions depended not only on the time of day, but also on the season of the year, and were such that a vast number of ascents would be requisite to determine the true laws with anything approaching to certainty and completeness. It was also clear that England is a most unfit country for the pursuit of such investigations, as, from whatever place the balloon started, it was never safe to be more than an hour above the clouds for fear of reaching the sea. It appeared from the observations that an aneroid barometer could be trusted to read as accurately as a mercurial barometer to the heights reached. The time of vibration of a horizontal magnet was taken in very many of the ascents, and the results of ten different sets of observations indicated that the time of vibration was longer than on the earth. In almost all the ascents the balloon was under the influence of currents of air in different directions which varied greatly in thickness. The direction of the wind on the earth was sometimes that of the whole mass of air up to 20,000 ft., whilst at other times the direction changed within 500 ft. of the earth. Sometimes directly opposite currents were met with at different heights in the same ascent, and three or four streams of air were encountered moving in different directions. The direct distances between the places of ascent and descent, apart from the movements of the balloon under the influence of these various currents, were always very much greater than the horizontal movement of the air as measured by anemometers. For example, on the 12th of January 1862, the balloon left Woolwich at 2h. 8m. p.m., and descended at Lakenheath, 70 m. distant from the place of ascent, at 4h. 19m. p.m. At the Greenwich Observatory, by a Robinson anemometer, during this time the motion of the air was 6 m. only. With regard to physiological observations, Glaisher found that the frequency of his pulse increased with elevation, as also did the number of inspirations. The number of his pulsations was generally 76 per minute before starting, about 90 at 10,000 ft., 100 at 20,000 ft., and 110 at higher elevations. But a good deal depended on the temperament of the individual. This was also the case in respect to colour; at 10,000 ft. the faces of some would be a glowing purple, whilst others would be scarcely affected; at 4 m. high Glaisher found the pulsations of his heart distinctly audible, and his breathing was very much affected, so that panting was produced by the slightest exertion; at 29,000 ft. he became insensible. In reference to the propagation of sound, it was at all times found that sounds from the earth were more or less audible according to the amount of moisture in the air. When in clouds at 4 m. high, a railway train was heard; but when clouds were far below, no sound ever reached the ear at this elevation. The discharge of a gun was heard at 10,000 ft. The barking of a dog was heard at the height of 2 m., while the shouting of a multitude of people was not audible at heights exceeding 4000 ft. In his ascent of the 5th of September 1862, Glaisher considered that he reached a height of 37,000 ft. But that figure was based, not on actual record, but on the circumstances that at 29,000 ft., when he became insensible, the balloon was rising 1000 ft. a minute, and that when he recovered consciousness thirteen minutes later it was falling 2000 ft. a minute, and the accuracy of his conclusions has been questioned. Few scientific men have imitated Glaisher in making high ascents for meteorological observations. In 1867 and 1868 Camille Flammarion made eight or nine ascents from Paris for scientific purposes. The heights attained were not great, but the general result was to confirm the observations of Glaisher; for an account see Voyages aériens, Paris, 1870, or Travels in the Air, London, 1871, in which also some ascents by W. de Fonvielle are noticed. On the 15th of April 1875, H. T. Sivel, J. E. Crocé-Spinelli and Gaston Tissandier ascended from Paris in the balloon “Zenith,” and reached a height of 27,950 ft.; but only Tissandier came down alive, his two companions being asphyxiated. This put an end to such attempts for a time. But Dr A. Berson and Lieut. Gross attained 25,840 ft. on the 11th of May 1894; Berson, ascending alone from Strassfurt on the 4th of December 1894, attained about 31,500 ft. and recorded a temperature of −54° F.; and Berson and Stanley Spencer are stated by the latter to have attained 27,500 ft. on the 15th of September 1898 when they ascended in a hydrogen balloon from the Crystal Palace, the thermometer registering −29° F. On the 31st of July 1901, Berson and R. J. Süring, ascending at Berlin, actually noted a barometric reading corresponding to a height of 34,500 ft., and possibly rose 1000 or 1500 ft. higher, though in spite of oxygen inhalations they were unconscious during the highest portion of the ascent.
The personal danger attending high ascents led Gustave Hermite and Besançon in November 1892 to inaugurate
