34 The Art of ornamenting, blooming, 



12s. to qualify him for being his butler, than the other has to 

 qualify him for being his gardener ; and after each is appointed 

 to his new station, the butler will receive more, by from 51. to 

 10/. a year, than the gardener. I think, therefore, there is suf- 

 ficient reason for remonstrance, as the profession of a gardener 

 requires incomparably greater application of mind than that 

 of a butler ; a gardener is also expected to have attained a 

 greater stock of general knowledge than the other, and not to 

 be behind him or any servant in attention to his duty, fidelity 

 to his master's interest, and general trustworthiness. 



I am, Sir, &c. 

 December 19. 1826. W. S. 



Art. XX. The Art of ornamenting, showing, preserving, and 

 packing Cucumbers, Grapes, Plums, and other Fruits whose 

 principal Beauty consists in their delicate Bloom. By Mr. 

 Robert Gauen, Gardener at Millbrook, near South- 

 ampton. 



From a manuscript with the above title, Mr. Gauen has 

 permitted us to give the following abridgment. The article 

 at length is in the course of being printed, and will be sold 

 by Mr. Eddy at No. 354. Oxford Street, together with a box 

 of Mr. Gauen's invention, in which the mystery of improving 

 the bloom of fruits is performed. 



Among florists and growers of prize fruits, manual decor- 

 ation is in many cases of equal importance with successful 

 growth ; the petals of the carnation require to be dressed on 

 a card ; the cucumber to be straightened, and the plum pow- 

 dered with artificial bloom. Ten years' experience, and the 

 award of nearly 100/. in prizes for show fruits, enable Mr. 

 Gauen to speak on this subject with a degree of confidence 

 which can belong to but few individuals. 



To secure a delicate bloom to the cucumber, it must be 

 protected^ from the period of its blossoming, from the drip of 

 the lights, and from the damp of the soil, by two pieces of 

 glass about four inches wide, and from eight to twelve inches 

 long ; the one placed under the fruit, and the other supported 

 on pegs over it ; both having a fall of half an inch to one end, 

 to carry off any drip or condensed dew. 



To procure great length, small girth, and " the straightness 

 of a gun barrel " to the cucumber, instead of supporting the 

 upper piece of glass on pegs, lay on the under piece of glass 



