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CARLOTTA, THE LADY AERONAUT

had grown beyond what Carlotta alone could take care of, so another aeronaut was employed. "Dare" was a trapeze artist who could perform gymnastic stunts while ascending. Although his act was thrilling, he never approached Carlotta in popularity. Second: the manufacture of balloons of all sizes and shapes, to order, was increasing as Carl's reputation spread. He made weather balloons for the United States Department of Agriculture, captive balloons for fairs and exhibitions, and full size balloons for aeronauts. His market included all of the United States and Canada. And third: Carl never ceased working on the problem of self-propelled craft, or dirigibles. He was experimenting with a spindle-shaped gas bag, propelled by foot power. He called it the "Sky Cycle" or "Aerial Bicycle."
With all those activities, he needed more space, and as luck would have it, a fine large Victorian mansion with spacious grounds became available in the nearby town of Frankfort. The property was known as the Gates Mansion. It was one of the show places of Frankfort. It had been built about 1878 by Mr. Fred Gates, one of the owners of the Gates Match Company, then the largest industry in the town of Frankfort. In the 1880s the Gates Match Company merged with Diamond Match Company and the Frankfort activities were gradually moved to Oswego to be nearer the lumber region of the North. It was this move from town that caused Mr. Gates to put his fine thirty-room mansion on the market. Carl saw great possibilities for his activities in this spacious house and grounds, so in 1889 he purchased the mansion with its five acres of land, and transformed it into one of the most unusual institutions in the state of New York. 
He called it "The Balloon Farm" and indeed, to a passerby who saw it with a dozen or more half-inflated balloons scattered around the grounds, the effect was that of a crop-a field of huge mushrooms. And in the late fall the crop was harvested by carefully bundling them up and stowing them away in the attic of the large house for the winter. Each balloon carried its own tag with a list of all its ascents, and 

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