38 The Art of' ornamenting, blooming, 



Mr. Gauen's mode of supplying prickles is as follows: — Pro- 

 cure a few camel-hair pencils, a little gum-arabic, some Indian 

 ink, a little finely powdered starch, a sharp penknife, a few 

 small needles, and one or two large needles. Select the 

 prickles from fruits that have been gathered a day or two ; 

 from five to fifteen may be wanted for a fruit. In distributing 

 them over the fruit, imitate nature. In preparing the prickles, 

 remove them without taking any of the flesh of the fruit ; cut 

 them off, and let them drop on a sheet of letter paper, from 

 which you may take them up as wanted, by turning them up 

 on their base, and then thrusting a small needle into their side. 

 Pincers must not be used,as they bruise the prickle. Dissolve the 

 gum in a tea-cup, with boiling water ; and, when it has become 

 a strong size, stir in a tea-spoonful of finely powdered starch. 



To put on the prickles, take a large clean camel-hair pen- 

 cil, dip it into the gum, and present the base of the prickle to 

 the surface of the gum, suffering it barely to touch ; then dis- 

 place the bloom from that point on the cucumber where you 

 are going to place the prickle with a dry camel-hair pencil : 

 having applied the prickle, keep it in its place with the eye of 

 a large needle, while you withdraw the small needle from its 

 side. To colour these prickles, mix up some gum water and 

 Indian ink to such a consistency that you find you can take a 

 globule upon the point of a large needle without dropping ; 

 then take some of the mixture on the point of a fine camel- 

 hair pencil, and apply it to the point of a prickle ; if it is of 

 the proper consistency, it will, by its own gravity and the 

 attraction of cohesion, surround the prickle, and adhere to it 

 without running upon the fruit. " If you wish to increase the 

 size of the prickles, repeat the application." 



For show cucumbers, it is deemed necessary to have a de- 

 cayed blossom adhering to the end of the fruit : this is easily 

 supplied from other fruits, and made to adhere with a little 

 gum water and starch. 



" To dish up a leash (three, as in greyhounds) of cucum- 

 bers for show," moss or cotton wool is generally laid, in the 

 bottom of the dish, and over that a cucumber leaf, and the 

 fruit. The latter must show " as perfect a match as possible, 

 in the three fruit, in length, size, arrangement of prickle, and 

 bloom." 



For the carriage of cucumbers to the show, most gardeners 

 use a box consisting of two tiers, with three cells in each, the 

 cells lined with green baize, and capable of being contracted 

 or distended at pleasure, by means of string fastenings ; but 

 Mr. Gauen prefers the mode of packing already described. 



