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KITE

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Originally appearing in Volume V15, Page 840 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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KITE ,' the Falco milvus of See also:

Linnaeus and Milvus See also:ictinus of See also:modern ornithologists, once probably the most See also:familiar See also:bird of See also:prey in See also:Great See also:Britain, and now one of the rarest. Three or four See also:hundred years ago foreigners were struck with its abundance in the streets of See also:London. It was doubtless the See also:scavenger in See also:ordinary of that and other large towns (as kindred See also:species now are in Eastern lands), except where its See also:place was taken by the See also:raven; for See also:Sir See also:Thomas See also:Browne (c. 1662) wrote of the latter at See also:Norwich—" in See also:good plentie about the citty which makes so few kites to be seen hereabout." See also:John Wolley has well remarked of the modern Londoners that few " who see the See also:paper toys hovering over the parks in See also:fine days of summer, have any See also:idea that the bird from which they derive their name used to See also:float all See also:day in hot See also:weather high over the heads of their ancestors." Even at the beginning of the 19th See also:century the kite formed a feature of many ' In O.E. is cyta; no related word appears in cognate See also:languages. Glede, cognate with " glide," is also another See also:English name. a rural landscape in See also:England, as they had done in the days when the poet See also:Cowper wrote of them. But an evil See also:time soon came upon the species. It must have been always hated by the henwife, but the resources of See also:civilization in the shape of the See also:gun and the See also:gin were denied to her. They were, however, employed with fatal zeal by the gamekeeper; for the kite, which had See also:long afforded the supremest See also:sport to the See also:falconer, was now See also:left friend-less,"' and in a very few years it seems to have been exterminated throughout the greater See also:part of England, certain See also:woods in the Western Midlands, as well as See also:Wales, excepted. In these latter a small remnant still exists; but the well-wishers of this beautiful species are naturally chary of giving See also:information that might See also:lead to its further persecution. In See also:Scotland there is no See also:reason to suppose that its See also:numbers suffered much diminution until about 1835, or even later, when the systematic destruction of "See also:vermin" on so many See also:moors was begun. In Scotland, however, it is now as much restricted to certain districts as in England or Wales, and those districts it would be most inexpedient to indicate.

The kite is, according to its See also:

sex, from 25 to 27 in. in length, about one See also:half of which is made up by its deeply forked tail, capable of great expansion, and therefore a powerful See also:rudder, enabling the bird while soaring on its wide wings, more than 5 ft. in extent, to See also:direct its circling course with scarcely a See also:movement that is apparent to the spectator below. Its See also:general See also:colour is See also:pale reddish-See also:brown or See also:cinnamon, the See also:head being greyish-See also:white, but almost each See also:feather has the See also:shaft dark. The tail feathers are broad, of a See also:light red, barred with deep brown, and furnish the See also:salmon See also:fisher with one of the choicest materials of his "flies." The See also:nest, nearly always built in the See also:crotch of a large See also:tree, is formed of sticks intermixed with many See also:strange substances collected as See also:chance may offer, but among them rags 2 seem always to have a place. The eggs, three or four in number, are of a dull white, spotted and blotched with several shades of brown, and often See also:lilac. It is especially mentioned by old authors that in Great Britain the kite was See also:resident throughout the See also:year; whereas on the See also:Continent it is one of the most See also:regular and marked migrants, stretching its wings towards the See also:south in autumn, wintering in See also:Africa, and returning in See also:spring to the See also:land of its See also:birth. There is a second See also:European species, not distantly related, the Milvus migrans or M. ater of most authors,' smaller in See also:size, with a general dull blackish-brown plumage and a less forked tail. In some districts this is much commoner than the red kite, and on one occasion it has appeared in England. Its habits are very like those of the species already described, but it seems to be more addicted to fishing. Nearly allied to this See also:black kite are the M. aegyptius of Africa, the M. govinda (the See also:common See also:pariah kite ' See also:George, third See also:earl of See also:Orford, died in 1791, and See also:Colonel See also:Thornton, who with him had been the latest follower of this highest See also:branch of the See also:art of See also:falconry, See also:broke up his hawking See also:establishment not many years after. There is no See also:evidence that the pursuit of the kite was in England or any other See also:country reserved to See also:kings or privileged persons, but the taking of it was quite beyond the See also:powers of the ordinary trained falcons, and in older days practically became limited to those of the See also:sovereign. Hence the kite had attached to it, especially in See also:France, the epithet of " royal," which has still survived in the specific appellation of regalis applied to it by many ornithologists. The scandalous See also:work of Sir Antony See also:Weldon (See also:Court and See also:Character of See also:King See also:James, p.

104) bears See also:

witness to the excellence of the kite as a See also:quarry in an amusing See also:story of the " See also:British See also:Solomon," whose See also:master-falconer, Sir Thomas See also:Monson, being determined to outdo the performance of the See also:French king's falconer, who, when sent to England to show sport, " could not kill one kite, ours being more magnanimous than the French kite," at last succeeded, after an outlay of £u000, in getting a See also:cast of See also:hawks that took nine kites See also:running—" never missed one." On the strength of this, James was induced to witness a See also:flight at See also:Royston, " but the kite went to such a mountee as all the See also:field lost sight of kite See also:anti See also:hawke and all, and neither kite nor hawke were either seen or heard of to this See also:present." 2 Thus justifying the See also:advice of See also:Shakespeare's See also:Autolycus (See also:Winter's See also:Tale, iv. 3)—" When the kite builds, look to lesser See also:linen "—very necessary in the See also:case of the laundresses in olden time, when the bird commonly frequented their drying-grounds. 3 Dr R. See also:Bowdler See also:Sharpe (See also:Cat. Birds Brit. See also:Mus. i. 322) calls it M. korschun, but the figure of S. G. See also:Gmelin's Accipiter Korschun, whence the name is taken, unquestionably represents the See also:moor-See also:buzzard (See also:Circus aeruginosus).of See also:India),' the M. melanotis of Eastern See also:Asia, and the M. affinis and M. isurus; the last is by some authors removed to another genus or sub-genus as Lophoictinia, and is See also:peculiar to See also:Australia, while M. affinis also occurs in See also:Ceylon, See also:Burma, and some of the See also:Malay countries as well. All these may be considered true kites, while those next to be mentioned are more aberrant forms. First there is Elanus, the type of which is E. caeruleus, a beautiful little bird, the black-winged kite of English authors, that comes to the south of See also:Europe from Africa, and has several congeners—E. axillaris and E. scriptus of Australia being most worthy of See also:notice. An extreme development of this See also:form is found in the See also:African Nauclerus riocourii, as well as in Elanoides furcatus, the See also:swallow-tailed kite, a widely-ranging bird in See also:America, and remarkable for its length of wing and tail, which gives it a marvellous See also:power of flight, and serves to explain the unquestionable fact of its having twice appeared in Great Britain.

To Elanus also Ictinia, another See also:

American form, is allied, though perhaps more remotely, and it is represented by I. mississippiensis, the See also:Mississippi kite, which is by some considered to be but the See also:northern See also:race of the Neotropical I. plumbea. Gempsonyx, Rostrhamus and Cymindis, all belonging to the Neotropical region, See also:complete the See also:series of forms that seem to compose the sub-See also:family Milvinae, though there may be doubt about the last, and some systematists would thereto add the perns or See also:honey-buzzards, Perninae. (A. N.) KITE-FLYING, the art of sending up into the See also:air, by means of the See also:wind, light frames of varying shapes covered with paper or See also:cloth (called kites, after the bird—in See also:German Drache, See also:dragon), which are attached to long cords or wires held in the See also:hand or See also:wound on a See also:drum. When made in the common See also:diamond form, or triangular with a semicircular head, kites usually have a pendulous tail appended for balancing purposes. The tradition is that kites were invented by See also:Archytas of See also:Tarentum four centuries before the See also:Christian era, but they have been in use among See also:Asiatic peoples and See also:savage tribes like the Maoris of New See also:Zealand from time immemorial. Kite-flying has always been a See also:national pastime of the Koreans, See also:Chinese, See also:Japanese, Tonkinese, Annamese, See also:Malays and See also:East See also:Indians. It is less popular among the peoples of Europe. The origin of the sport, although obscure, is usually ascribed to See also:religion. With the Maoris it still retains a distinctly religious character, and the ascent of the kite is accompanied by a See also:chant called the kite-See also:song. The Koreans attribute its origin to a general, who, hundreds of years ago, inspirited his troops by sending up a kite with a See also:lantern attached, which was mistaken by his See also:army for a new See also:star and a token of divine succour. Another Korean general is said to have been the first to put the kite to See also:mechanical uses by employing one to span a stream with a See also:cord, which was then fastened to a See also:cable and formed the See also:nucleus of a See also:bridge.

In See also:

Korea, See also:Japan and See also:China, and indeed throughout Eastern Asia, even the tradespeople may be seen indulging in kite-flying while waiting for customers. Chinese and Japanese kites are of many shapes, such as birds, dragons, beasts and fishes. They vary in size, but are often as much as 7 ft. in height or breadth, and are constructed of See also:bamboo strips covered with See also:rice paper or very thin See also:silk. In China the ninth day of the ninth See also:month is " Kites' Day," when men and boys of all classes betake themselves to neighbouring eminences and. See also:fly their kites. Kite-fighting is a feature of the pastime in Eastern Asia. The cord near the kite is usually stiffened with a mixture of See also:glue and crushed See also:glass or See also:porcelain. The kite-flyer manceuvres to get his kite to windward of that of his adversary, then allows his cord to See also:drift against his enemy's, and by a sudden jerk to cut it through and bring its kite to grief. The Malays possess a large variety of kites, mostly without tails. The See also:Sultan of See also:Johor sent to the Columbian Exposition at See also:Chicago in 1893 a collection of fifteen different kinds. Asiatic musical kites See also:bear one or more perforated reeds or bamboos which emit a plaintive See also:sound that can be heard for great distances. The ignorant, believing that these kites frighten away evil See also:spirits, often keep them flying all See also:night over their houses. ' The Brahminy kite of India, Haliastur See also:Indus, seems to be rather a fishing See also:eagle.

There are various metaphorical uses of the See also:

term " kite-flying," such as in commercial See also:slang, when " flying a kite " means raising See also:money on See also:credit (cf. " raising the wind "), or in See also:political slang for seeing " how the wind blows." And " flying-kites," in nautical See also:language, are the topmost sails. Kite-flying for scientific purposes began in the See also:middle of the 18th century. In 1752 See also:Benjamin See also:Franklin made his memorable kite experiment, by which he attracted See also:electricity from the air and demonstrated the See also:electrical nature of See also:lightning. A more systematic use of kites for scientific purposes may, however, be said to date from the experiments made in the last See also:quarter of the 19th century. (E. B.) Meteorological Use.—Many European and American meteorological services employ kites regularly, and obtain information not only of the temperature, but also of the humidity and velocity of the air above. The kites used are mostly modifications of the so-called See also:box-kites, invented by L. Hargrave. Roughly these kites may be said to resemble an ordinary box with the two ends removed, and also the middle part of each of the four sides. The See also:original Hargrave kite, the form generally used, has a rectangular See also:section; in' See also:Russia a semicircular section with the curved part facing the wind is most in favour; in England the diamond-shaped section is preferred for meteorological purposes owing to its simplicity of construction. Stability depends on a multitude of small details of construction, and long practice and experience are required to make a really good kite.

The sizes most in use have from 30 to 8o sq. ft. of See also:

sail See also:area. There is no difficulty about raising a kite to a See also:vertical height of one or even two See also:miles on suitable days, but heights exceeding three miles are seldom reached. On the 29th of See also:November 1905 at Lindenberg, the Prussian Aeronautical See also:Observatory, the upper one of a See also:train of six kites attained an See also:altitude of just four miles. The See also:total lifting See also:surface of these six kites was nearly 300 sq. ft., and the length of See also:wire a little over nine miles. The kites are invariably flown on a See also:steel wire See also:line, for the hindrance to obtaining great heights is not due so much to the See also:weight of the line as to the wind pressure upon it, and thus it becomes of great importance to use a material that possesses the greatest possible strength, combined with the smallest possible size. Steel piano wire meets this requirement, for a wire of h in. See also:diameter will weigh about 16 lb to the mile, and stand a See also:strain of some 250–280 lb before it breaks. Some stations prefer to use one long piece of wire of the same See also:gauge throughout without a join, others prefer to start with a thin wire and join on thicker and thicker wire as more kites are added. The See also:process of kite-flying is as follows. The first kite is started either with the self-recording See also:instruments secured in it, or See also:hanging from the wire a See also:short distance below it. Wire is then paid out, whether quickly or slowly depends on the strength of the wind, but the usual See also:rate is from two to three miles per See also:hour. The quantity that one kite will take depends on the kite and on the wind, but roughly speaking it may be said that each To sq. ft. of lifting surface on the kite should carry See also:i000 ft. of in. wire without difficulty. When as much wire as can be carried comfortably has run out another kite is attached to the line, and the paying out is continued; after a time a third is added, and so on.

Each kite increases the strain upon the wire, and moreover adds to the height and makes it more uncertain what See also:

kind of wind the upper kites will encounter; it also adds to the time that is necessary to haul in the kites. In each way the See also:risk of their breaking away is increased, for the wind is very uncertain and is liable to alter in strength. Since to attain an exceptional height the wire must be strained nearly to its breaking point, and under such conditions a small increase in the strength of the wind will break the wire, it follows that great heights can only be attained by those who are willing to risk the trouble and expense of frequently having their wire and train of kites break away. The weather is the essential See also:factor in kite-flying. In the S.E. of England in winter it is possible on about two days out of three, and in summer on about one day out of three. The usual cause of failure is want of wind, but there are a few days when the wind is too strong. (For meteorological results, &c., see See also:METEOROLOGY.) (W. H. Di.) Military Use.—A kite forms so extremely See also:simple a method of lifting anything to a height in the air that it has naturally been suggested as being suitable for various military purposes, such as signalling to a long distance, carrying up flags, or lamps, or semaphores. Kites have been used both in the army and in the See also:navy for flowing torpedoes on hostile positions. As much as two miles of line have been paid out. For purposes of See also:photography a small kite carrying a See also:camera to a considerable height may be caused to float over a fort or other place of which a bird's-See also:eye view is required, the shutter being operated by electric wire, or slow match, or clockwork.

Many successful photographs have been thus obtained in England and America. The problem of lifting a See also:

man by means of kites instead of by a See also:captive See also:balloon is a still more important one. The See also:chief military advantages to be gained are: (i) less transport is required; (2) they can be used in a strong wind; (3) they are not so liable to damage, either from the enemy's See also:fire or from trees, &c., and are easier to mend; (4) they can be brought into use more quickly; (5) they are very much cheaper, both in construction and in See also:maintenance, not requiring any costly See also:gas. See also:Captain B. F. S. See also:Baden-See also:Powell, of the Scots See also:Guards, in See also:June 1894 constructed, at Pirbright See also:Camp, a huge kite 36 ft. high, with which he successfully lifted a man on different occasions. He afterwards improved the contrivance, using five or six smaller kites attached together in preference to one large one. With this arrangement he frequently ascended as high as Too ft. The kites were hexagonal, being 12 ft. high and 12 ft. across. The apparatus, which could be packed in a few minutes into a simple See also:roll, weighed in all about i cwt. This appliance was proved to be capable of raising a man even during a dead See also:calm, the retaining line being fixed to a See also:wagon and towed along.

Lieut. H.D. See also:

Wise made some trials in America in 1897 with some large kites of the Hargrave See also:pattern (Hargrave having previously him-self ascended in Australia), and succeeded in lifting a man 40 ft. above the ground. In the See also:Russian army a military kite apparatus has also been tried, and was in evidence at the manoeuvres in 1898. Experiments have also been carried out by most of the European powers. (B. F. S. B.-P.) See also:KIT-See also:FOX (Canis [Vulpes] velox), a small fox, from See also:north-western America, measuring less than a yard in length, with a tail of nearly a third this length. There is a good See also:deal of variation in the colour of the See also:fur, the prevailing tint being See also:grey. A specimen in the Zoological Gardens of London had the back and tail dark grey, the tail tipped with black, and a rufous See also:wash on the cheeks, shoulders, flanks and See also:outer surface of the limbs, with the under surface white. The specific name was given on See also:account of the extraordinary swiftness of the See also:animal.

End of Article: KITE

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