The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1884-11-29
WHAT ARE TRUFFLES7

/ Market.
"The importation of truffles to this
country is on the increase" said Jacob
Meyer, who, until recently, was en-
gagged in raising them in Germany. near
Hanover. "They are looked upon as q
great luxury in Europe, and 1 have oft
en- wondered why they were not more
used here.'
"What are truf1es?''
"They are fungus growth, similar
| to the mushroom, and are found gen.
orally in soil impregnated with lime,
and always in the neighborhood of oak
or beech trees. They are found under
| the ground, at distance varying from
an inch to a foot, and are supposed to
be parasite living in their early stage
upon the roots of trees. They are OBJ
long or spherical, and vary from the
size Of an English walnut to that Of a
large potato. Quite frequently 1 have
known them to weigh two pounds, and
once found one that weighed three
and half pounds. Some are of dull
white color, but the black or brown
truffie has the finest flavor and brings
the best price. Their surface is rough,
and covered with excrescences resem-
bling warts, and judging from the ex-
terror they would not be selected as an
article of food. Internally they resemble
a dark-colored marble, and are different
from other known forms of fungi.
| "But little is known about their prop
agation and growth. The reproductive
| portion is found in minute sacs, which
contain number of spores, and are
thickly scattered throughout the num-
| berless small veins that traverse the
mass in every direction. In growing
they are not attached to any other
body, and lie loosely imbedded in the
earth.
'In what localities are truffies foundP"
"They are found in the greatest
| profusion in Southern France, and
these are also of the best quality. They
also grow in some parts of England,
Germany, Italy, Australia and Africa
l have never heard of any being dis
covered in this country. My expert
ence here, where have endeavored to
transplant them, as well as in Ger
many, where 1 spent many years in
futile efforts to cultivate them artifi-
cially, has led me to approve the COM
mon opinion of truffie-hunters, that a
truffle is the most contrary thing in the
world. When forced or coaxed, not
one will appear; and frequently field
will be unexpectedly filed. No one
knows where they come from. / have
taken small truffie out of the ground,
| filled up the hole, and the next day
taken a larger one from exactly the
same spot. Removing this second one,
l have taken a third and still larger
one from the same spot on the next
day. Then for five days not a sign of
a truff1e could be seen. On the sixth
day a small truffie would be found in
exactly the same spot, and the others
would be found as before. They would
alternately appear and disappear in this
manner for about three months, and
then finally disappear altogether. At
times they grow so quickly as to awaken
astonishment, and again will increase
in size with the slowness of century
plant.
| IL have had some success in raising
them by taking the water in which the
pairing of truffies had been stepped and
| sprinkling it over truffle bed that had
been worked out. In some parts of
France acorns sowed upon a calcareous
soil have yielded truffies after the sap
lings had attained three or four years
| growth, but attempts to raise them in
large quantities will surely fail Mush-
rooms are cultivated with good results,
because the vegetative portion of the
plant is easily obtained for planting
The vegetative portion of truffies has
not yet been obtained, and consequent
ly all experiments with them have been
futile.
1.-THE odor of the truff1e is aromatic,
! peculiar to itself, and will soon pene-
trate every room in a house. 1t pro-
duces nausea in some people, and in
others sense of light-headedness."
'1s there any particular way of find
ing themp''
Eyes. In England and Germany dogs
are trained to find them, generally poo
dies or spitz dogs. A truffle is given to
one of these dogs to play with, and
then is taken into field and planted in
sight of the dog. When feeding time
comes, the dog is taken to where the
truffie is buried, and he is given to I'M
derstand that his getting food depends
| 1pon finding the truffie. Some dogs
are remarkably apt, and will gather the
idea in a few trials, while others will
never comprehend your meaning. As
soon as they are trained they are turned
loose in truffle-bed and will move rap
idly around with noses close to the
ground until they scent the peculiar
truff1e odor They will then begin to
scratch up the soil, and care must be
taken to stop them or they will tear the
truffie to pieces. A good dog, however,
will stop scratching as soon as the truf-
file comes in view. Sometimes they are
buried so deeply that the dogs can not
reach them. They will then lie down
by the hole and patiently wait for help.
In the southern part of France and TIA
ly, sows, which are passionately fond
of truffles, take the place of dogs, and
search for them as an article Of food.
Hunters follow the sows around and
gather the truffies as soon as the sows
begin to root.
"The truffie bed l had in Germany
cost me for rent, think, 5000. / sold
the truffies in Hanover for $3.50 a
pound, and made considerable money.
They will average about four to the
pound. There is company at Peri
CORD, France, who are large purchas-
ers of trufies. They cook them and put
them up in sealed tin cans by secret
process. The strong odor is not notice
able in the canned goods, and they have
not the delicious flavor of the fresh
truffles. The French use more of them
than any other nation, and they are al
most the only consumers in this coun-
try. The only objections to their uni
versal use is their scarcity and cost.
There are plenty of truffle beds yet un-
discovered and some day, no doubt, an
improved system of searching for them