THE CHELSEA STEAM CAPTIVE BALLOON.—This monster aerial balloon ascends daily, weather permitting, from a part of the grounds known as the Ashburnham estate, a little beyond Cremorne Gardens. The balloon itself is 93 feet in diameter, and has a cubical capacity for gas of 421,161 ft. It is capable of taking up into the air no less than 30 passengers, and is attached to one strong rope, 2000 ft. long, which passes round a balance wheel, and thence to a large cylinder worked by an engine of 200 horse power. These appliances are all fitted in a kind of amphitheatre, from the centre of which the ascents take place. The supposed altitude to which the rope allows ascent is 2000 feet, but as a rule the height is generally less. The cost of the balloon alone is stated to be £24,000, and the value of the gas required (pure hydrogen) £600. It is composed of linen and India rubber, made of five thicknesses, and is the property of a French gentleman well known for his attachment to scientific experiments. * * * * * On the opposite side of the road, and adjoining St. Mark’s College, is Mr. Veitch’s Royal Exotic Nursery. These grounds for a great many years belonged to Mr. Knight, who possessed a most choice collection of Cape plants, &c., and who was patronized by nearly all the nobility and gentry in this country. Mr. Veitch has fully sustained the celebrity acquired by his predecessor. * * * * * A little further eastward is Mr. W. Bull’s Nursery, and on the opposite side is the Ashburnham Park Nursery, belonging to Mr. J. W. Wimsett. Both of them are distinguished cultivators of rare and valuable plants. * * * * * Near to Cremorne Gardens, on the opposite side of the road, is the extensive Show Establishment belonging to John Weeks and Co., Horticultural Builders and Hot-Water Apparatus Manufacturers, Engineers, and Iron Founders. The Horticultural Building and Engineering department is carried on near to Messrs. Downing’s Floor Cloth Manufactory, in the King’s Road. * * * * *