Thirty balloons ascended last Saturday from the ground of the Hurlingham Club, their object being to descend as nearly as possible toa certain inn situated about three miles from Maidenhead, and about twenty-seven miles from the starting place. They were not dirigible balloons, and were, therefore, dependent upon the direction of the wind. Consequently the goal was not decided upon until the time of starting. The contest, which was arranged by the International Aeronautical Federation cannot be said to have proved anything. It merely con. firmed our knowledge of the fact that a gas bag with a car attached is almost unguidable. "It is true that by raising or lowering the balloon when it in the wrong direction the aeronaut may strike a current going in the right direction; but the best which the winner or luck on Saturday was to get within one mile, one furlong of his objective, while the third descended nearly three miles and squatter away and the fifth nearly four miles. Still it was avery pretty sight to see the balloons rise and sail away and thousands journeyed to the neighbourhood of Putney and Wimbledon Common to enjoy it. Seventeen teams of the Coaching Club drove to Hurlingham from Hyde Park and the roads between Hurlingham and the winning point were one long line of motor cars. Great Britain had twelve balloons in the race, France ten, Belgiom four and Germany three, There should also have been a Swiss competitor—by far the largest of the whole thirty-one; but owing to an unfortunate mishap with a valve it was unable to start. The race ended in n close finish between two British balloons, Mr. G. Brewer's Lotus C.F. Pollock's" Valky, "Lotus" winning by just 200 yards,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.