The morning times., 1895-08-18
FEAST OF The BLOSSOMS
Lenox Preparing for the
Annual Flower Parade.
SARATOGA'S BATTLE OF BLOOMS
Snowy Turnouts and Pretty
Women Make d Bril-
liant Spectacle.
sARATOGA'S BATTLE OF BLOOMS

Passing through the country now one
might imagine ones self stopping at the
different stations of France, that home
of flowers and bulbs SO many are the bios
SONS that are being collected in the gar
dens, and SO mysterious the preparations
forthe great floral festivals OF the year.
The Saratoga battle of flowers comes Off
now, and the floral parades, floral fetes,
floral drives and floral shows Of other
places are on their way to completion
The annual LenUx flower parade is well
progressed, as far as the decorations OF
wagons and floats are concerned, and the
Long Island, Long Branch and coast pro-
cessions are being planned, and floral talk
is in the air.
To have battle of flowers is not a diff
cult thing. You must first get the flowers
That is the most. The Saratoga people
began their parade only a year ago, and
their method was simple and thorough
They rented large hillside lot and this
they subdivided into little plots. Each child
in the public schools was given one lot
and each Sunday-school scholar a lot, and
any one who wanted an extra one could
get one by paying 20 cents for the season.
BY the last Of August the hillside was ablaZe
with flowers. This gave the millions
flowers and the owners ofgardens had them
anyway. That is the shortest and pleasant
est way to inaugurate a floral fete in
town that has never had one
The floral festival at LenOx is a beautiful
gf no irs
place agrees to decorate all the carriages in
his stables and To bring out all his horses,
and the result is as guodIy 4 showing as
though there were 10 900 Inhabitants
instead of tenth Of that number
a BEAUTIFUL LEADER
The leader of the Lenox procession is
always young and beautiful girl
Miss Sloane drove the leading turnout one
year. She was dressed as a Turkish wo-
man, with white flowers sewed upon veil
that covered her face TO the eyes She
rode in q small village cart entirely COW
cred with flowers, even TO the spOkes of
the wheels, and overhead there hung from
a floral framework great floral parasol.
By her side ran a Turkish attendant
dressed III golden rod and carrying great
golden rod spectre, with which he lashed
merry makers who came near enough TO
the carriage wheels to tear off the flowers.
At the Lenox parade this year there is
to be q bachelor turnout. This bachelor
who has succeeded in eluding summer cap
ture VIII drive a large red express cart
filled with hay. The spokes Of tae wheels
VIII be hay and the pole Of the wagon one
great hay wisp. Upon the horses head
there viii be tied an old straw hat and the
bachelor himself VIII betEessed=as a hay
seed" with faded hay-colored troUsers,
and hay upon the brim or d very diapi-
dated straw hat. In the wagon win be
the farm hands-other gay young bache-
Iors.
When Ii comes TO the battle OF flowers,
that revelry which in Paris is worth trip
over the ocean, and to the BOis de BUu-
Iogne 10 see. the straw riders viii try to
transform their hay cart into flower
booth. One OF their plans. though il is
cruel to tell beforehand, is 20 hold up a
great, handsome rose and pretend TO throw
it. Back VIII come beautiful bouquets,
pelting them hard ana quick, but the
thrower viii discover a minute later that
she has exchanged her bouquet ammuni-
tion for a bunch of straw. But the pro-
cession is moving along all the time, the
flowers fly quicker and faster, and no
body not ices the deception until sud
denly there drives along very beauti-
fully decorated express wagon in place
Of the old straw load. There has been
transformation. This is one OF the par
donable frauds OF the battle OF flowers
The New Orleans people. who do every
thing with enthusiasm. arrange more thor
oughly for tile fun a their Mardi GraS fete.
They arrange two lines of carriages. pass
ing and reiassing each other, and thus
make more sport in the flower war. A ia
vorite trick is to provide the coachman with
a great silk bag, in which he sits. The bag
is open to the feet and into ii fall all the
flowers that are thrown at him. When