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a rapid-fire gun, most of the mass of the rocket could consist of propellant, and the superiority over the ordinary rocket could thereby be increased enormously. Such reloading mechanisms are the subject of all the above patents except the first, which is chiefly concerned with the nozzle, and what I have termed a "primary and secondary" rocket principle. I have not made a working model of a reloading device, as it is the one feature of the method that is self-evidently operative.
Regarding the heights that could be reached by the above method; I have applied the theory already mentioned to cases which my experiments show must be realizable in practice, and I find that a mass of one pound could be elevated to altltudes of 35, 72, and 232 miles; by employing initial masses of from 3.6 to 13.6, from 5.1 to 24.3, and from 9.8 to 89.6 lbs., respectively. If a device of the Coston ship-rocket type were used instead, the initial masses would be of the order of magnitude of those above, raised to the 27-th power. I hesitate to give my conclusions regarding the possibility of sending small masses (under what I feel sure are realizable conditions) to very much greater heights than those I have just mentioned.
Regarding the possibility of recovering apparatus upon its return; calculations show that the times of ascent and descent will be short, and that a small parachute should be sufficient to ensure safe landing.
I have in manuscript form an extended description of what I have briefly outlined, which is nearly completed; and have also a number of photographs and lantern slides, which
