3{oungScie«f. 
SCIENCE 
IS 
KNOWLEDGE. 
KNOWLEDGE 
IS 
POWER, 
A PRACIICAL JOURNAL FOR AMATEURS, 
Copyright Secured, 1878. 
Vol. I. 
NEW YORK, DECEMBER, 1878. 
No. 
Masked Christmas Gifts. 
UR small folks having 
lost all faith in the 
kindly offices of the 
little old gentleman 
who once a year is 
supposed to fill long 
stockings and short 
socks, I determined 
to have all Christ- 
mas presents masked 
in various articles of 
food, and in this way 
bring about a series 
of surprises and enjoyable mysteries. Strict 
orders were therefore given to the cook to 
provide an abundant supply of cold slaw 
with the oysters, and that pumpkin pie 
must not be forgotten as part of the Christ- 
mas dinner. 
After all the big and little folks had re- 
tired, I descended into the kitchen to make 
my first experiment. 
Of course Bridget was to be up first in 
the morning; why not begin with her 
presents first? So selecting the pumpkin 
which was purchased for the pies, as a most 
promising subject for a beginner, a square 
was cut out from about the stem with a thin 
and sharp-bladed knife, taking care to bevel 
the edges inwardly to prevent the piece 
from falling into the pumpkin when put 
back again (see Fig. 1). Great care was 
taken to avoid making false cuts or tearing 
the skin of the pumpkin. The seeds and 
pulpy fibre were then removed from the 
inside, which was rubbed dry with a coarse 
towel. 
Bridget was to have two presents — a 
string of black beads and cross, supposed to 
look like real jet, and a silk handkerchief. 
The beads were done up in several thick- 
nesses of paper, securely tied with string, 
and labeled "Miss Bridget Lundragun'a 
Christmas," so that there might be no mis- 
take about the ownership. The piece that 
had been cut out was then put back in its 
place and securely fastened with entomo- 
logical pins, as shown in Fig. 1. As the 
seam and the pin heads showed in places, 
I rubbed dry flour on the pumpkin, which 
gave it a "must have fallen into the flour 
barrel " look. It was then left on the table 
for Bridget's early attention. 
The cabbage was doctored the same way, 
a piece being cut out where the stalks grew 
and the inside scooped out with an old 
