Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1884-11-27
TALK ABOUT TRUFFLEs.
A Foreign Table Luxury-Where the
Plant Crows

country is on the increase said Jacob
Meyer, who, until recently, was engaged
in raising them in Germany, near Han
over. "They are looked upon as q great
luxury in Europe, and I have often won
dered why they were not more used
here"
"What are truffies2r
''They are fungous growth, similar
to the mushroom, and are found gener-
ally in soil impregnated with lime. and
always in the neighborhood Of oak or
beech trees. They are found under the
ground, at a distance varying from an
inch to foot, and are supposed to be
parasite living in their early stage upon
the roots of trees. They are oblong or
spherical, and vary from the size Of an
English walnut to that of large potato.
Quite frequently 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 favor and brings the best price
Their surface is rough and COW
cred with excrescences resembling
warts, and judging from
the exterior they would not be selected
as an article Of food. 1 ernally they
resemble dark-colored marble and are
different from other known forms of
fungi. But little is known about their
propagation and growth. The reproduc-
tive portion is found in minute sacs,
which contain number Of spores, and
are thickly scattered through 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"
'1n what localities are truff1es found2"
''They are found in the greatest pro
fusion in Southern France, and these are
also Of the best quality. They also grow
in some parts Of England, Germany,
Italy, Australia and Africa. I never
heard of any being discovered in this
country. MY experience here, where 1
have endeavored to transplant them. as
well as in Germany, where spent many
years in futile efforts to cultivate them
artifcially, has led me to approve the
common opinion of trufie hunters, that a
truffle is the most contrary thing in the
world. No one knows where they come
from. l have taken a small truff1e out
Of the ground, filed up the hole, and
the next day taken larger one from ex-
actly the same spot. Removing this Sec
ond one, l have taken q third and still
larger one from the same spot on the
next day. Then for five days not a sign
Of truffie could be seen. On the sixth
day small truff1e would be found in ex-
actly the same spot, and the others would
be found as before. They would alter
nately appear and disappear in this man
ner for about three months, and then
finally disappear altogether. At times
they grow SO quickly as to awaken as
tonishment, and again will increase in
size with the slowness Of century plant.
I have had some success in raising
them BY taking the water In which the
pairing of truffles had been stepped and
sprinkling it over truffle bed that had
been worked out In some parts of
France acorns sowed upon calcareous
soil have yielded truffles after the sap
ings had attained three or four years
growth; but attempts to raise them in
large quantities win 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 truffles has not
yet been obtained, and consequently, all
experiments with them have been futile.
"The odor of the truffie is aromatic,
peculiar to itself, and will speedily pene-
trate every room in house. 1t produces
nausea in some people, and in Others q
sense of Ight-headedness."
"Is there any particular way Of find
ing theml"
Eyes. In England and Germany
dogs are trained to find them, generally
poodles or spitz-dogs. A trufie 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
truf1e is buried, and be is given to un-
derstand that his getting food depends
upon finding the truffie. Some dogs are
remarkably apt, and will gather the idea
in few trials, while others will never
comprehend your meaning AS soon as
they are trained they are turned loose in
atruffie- bed and will move rapidly around
with noses close to the ground until they
scent the peculiar trufie odor. They
will then begin to scratch up the soil,
and care must be taken to stop them or
they will tear the trufie to pieces. a
good deg, however, will stop scratching
as soon as the trufie comes in view.
Sometimes they are buried 50 deeply that
the dogs cannot reach them. They viii
then lie down by the hole and patiently
wait for help. In the southern part Of
France and Italy, sows, which are pas
sionately fond Of trufies, take the place
Of dogs, and search for them as an arti-
Gle Of food. Hunters follow the sows
around and gather the truffles as soon as
the sows begin to root. The truffle bed
! had in Germany cost me for rent, I
think, 5000. sold the truties in Han
over for 81 so pound and made consid-
erable money They will average about
fo,,r t. fba s,otnd There ie 4 cOinnanV