the lines of the machine, the reduction of surface, and the controls, and the increase of the power of the motor. There is still room for reduction of surfaces, minor improvements in the general outlines and in the control; but the largest element in any increase of speed must rest with the development of the motor. Increased power is the tendency, with as much reduction in weight as possible. Personally, I can't see much room for reduction in weight. At present I am using a motor of my own manufacture that weighs but three pounds to the horse-power. This I consider extremely light as compared, for instance, with the engines used in submarines of the Navy, which weigh from sixty to seventy pounds to the horse-power. Still, there will be some reduction in weight per horse-power. With the great speed that will undoubtedly mark the aeroplane flights even of the near future, the physical endurance of the operator will count for a great deal in long flights. By the time we can fly much over a hundred miles an hour there will have to be some means of protection devised for the operator, for anyone who has travelled sixty or seventy miles an hour in an automobile knows how uncomfortable such a trip becomes if it keeps up over long distances. The driver of an aeroplane sitting out in front unprotected causes far more "head-resistance." It will be an easy matter to arrange some sort of protection for him. How strong this "head-resistance" can be, I realised in a curious experience while racing with Ely at Los Angeles, going at probably sixty-five miles an hour. I looked upward to see just where Ely was flying, and as I raised my head the wind got under my eyelids and puffed them out like toy balloons. For a moment I was confused and could scarcely see, but as soon as I turned my gaze on the ground the wind pressure forced the lids back into their normal position. SAFER THAN AUTOMOBILE RACES I believe there are fewer dangers in racing aeroplanes than in racing automobiles. Races run over the ground have to contend against obstructions to the course, tire troubles, and "skidding" on a wet track, or in making sharp turns. None of these exist in the race in the air. The course is always clear, there is no "track," wet or dry, and as for the turns that look so desperate to the inexperienced observer on the ground, the operator, far from slipping out of his seat as he "banks" sharply, sits tight and feels as if he were going on an even keel. If you can imagine how the water in a pail would feel as you swing the pail around your head so fast that not a drop spills, you can realise the sense of stability that the aviator feels as he whirls around a circular course at a tremendous rate of speed, in fact, once an aeroplane is up in the air, it is often safer to travel fast than it is to travel slow. ACCIDENTS