290 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



some parting shot of winter should break her ranks. Then comes the 

 Tulips, uniformed in the gayest dresses that blooming nature wears, 

 looking more like a wedding party than a band of soldiers. Seeming- 

 ly too gay to fight and yet too proud to run, they stand their ground 

 and conquer by their attractions. The next column to move is the 

 Carnations. More stately, more soldierly, their force is irresistible, 

 subduing every afifection with their charms, captivating every eye 

 with a noble spread of graces and charming the senses with a pro- 

 fusion of delicious odors. They come but to conquer. "Veni, vidi, 

 vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered). 



I shall not attempt to further portray this wonderful army in 

 its discipline and movements. Suffice it to say, it is endless in char- 

 acter, invincible in courage, perfect in order and ever ready for action 

 when the time for duty approaches. It consists of two grand di- 

 visions, the volunteers and the regulars. The first enlist only for 

 a season and are termed annuals and are discharged when their time 

 of service expires. They seem to have been called into service to 

 fill some special emergency more than for constant duty. The regu- 

 lars, or main division of the army, is composed of perennials, or those 

 who enlist during life and are more to be depended upon for constant 

 service. 



Now cast your eyes abroad ! The whole plains are covered 

 with the moving masses ! Was ever an army so magnificently ar- 

 rayed, in such beautiful colors and shades of color, from the purest 

 white to the deepest scarlet, from the gayest and most conspicuous 

 to the more sober and thoughtful? You see no two companies 

 dressed alike in the uniforms they wear, and yet the whole procession 

 blends in complete harmony. What an admirable arrangement in 

 time of action, when each division is expected to perform its duty, 

 and how easy for the one in command to distinguish one regiment 

 from another in daring deeds of valor ! 



What general ever commanded so great an army with such con- 

 summate skill and military discipline ? See in what order they march, 

 company after company, column after column, battalion after bat- 

 talion, regiment after regiment, in quick succession ! No sooner does 

 one company perform its duty and step aside than another takes its 

 place, without disorder or breaking of ranks, forming, still forming, 

 still changing, ever renewing and still executing some new design, 

 with military order and precision, throughout the whole of the flow- 

 ering seasons. 



Flowers were first strewn in Paradise for the enjoyment of man 

 alone, and none of the beasts of the field ever seem to notice, care 

 for or place any value upon them. If there are such a multiplicity 



