Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-11-08
WHEAT ARE TRUFFLEs,
A Foreign Table Luxury-Where the
Plant GrOvs-I1Ow ft is Brought to
Market.

Market.
From the New York tribune.
'The importation of truffles to this country is
on the increase" said Jacob Meyer, who, until
recently, was engaged in raising them in Ger
many, near Hanover. 'They are looked upon
as great luxury in Europe, and have often
wondered why they were not more used here"
What are truf.iesS"
They are a fungous growth, similar to the
mushroom. and are found generally in soil i'm
pregnated with lime, and always in the neigh
borhOOd 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 oolong or spherical, and vary
from the size of an English walnut to that of a
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
truffle has the finest flavor and brings the best
price. Their surface is Gcugh and covered with
J. excresences resembling warts, and judging from
I the exterior they would not be selected as an
article of food Internally they resemble dark
colored marble and are different from other
| SHOWN tslItIs of fungi.
+ but little is known about their propagation
I and {Jfowth The reproductive portion is found In
and arethiakly scattered through the number
lessfsnIal veins that trarerse 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 trufies found?"
''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 Eng
land. Germany, Italy, Australia and Africa.
never heard of any being discovered in this
Nv. y1-hn 7 hnx-a
deayored TO transplant them. as well as in Ger
many. where spent many years in futile efforts
to cultivate them artiticially has led me to APP
prove the common opinion of trufflle hunters,
that truftie is The most contrary thing in the
world. When forced or coaxed. not one will
appear; and frequently field will be uneXpec-
teddy filled. No one knows whe~a they come
from. nave taken a small tru1le out of the
ground, filed up the hole and the next day
taken larger one from exactly the same spot.
Removing this second one have taken third
ard s. ii larger one from the same spot on the
next day. Then for five days not sign Of
trutiie could be seen. On the sixth day small
trUllle would be found in Esctly the same spot.
aud 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 establishment. and
again will increase in size with the sloWnesS of
q century plant.
II have had some SUCCESS in raising them by
taking the water in which the pairing of truffles
had been stepped ard sprinkling it over trutI1e
bed that had been worked out. In some parts
OF France acOrnS sOWed upon calcareouS soil
have yielded trutlies after the sapiings had at
tanned three or four years growth; but attempts
to raise them in large quantities will surely fail.
Mushrooms are cultivated with good results,
because the yegetatiga portion of the plant is
easily obtained for planting. The yegetatve
portion OF truffies has not yet been obtained,
and, consequently, all experiments with them
have been futile.
''1he odOr OF the trufle is aromatic. peculiar
to Itself, and will speedily penetrate every room
In Rouse. 1t produces nausea in SOME people,
aT.d in others a sense of lght-headedaess"
us there any particular way of finding them?"
''Yes. In England and Germany dogs are
trained to find them, generally pOOsiies or spitZ-
dogs. A truffie is given to one of these dogs to
plSS 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 truffe is
buried, and he is given to understand that his
getting food depends upon finding the truffie.
Some dogs are remarkably apt, and will gather
the idea in a few trials. while others will never
comprehend your meanins AS soon as they
are trained they are turf Il loose in truffle-
! bed and will move rapidly around with noses
close to the ground until they scent the peculiar
| trutlie odor They will then begin to scratch
up the soil, and care must be taken to stop them
or they will tear the truttle TO pieces. A good
dog. however. will stop scratching as soon as
tue lruIDe comes IN view Sometimes they are
! buried so deeply that the dogs cannot reach
them. They will then lie down by the hole and
patiently wait for help. In the southern part OF
| France and Italy, sOws, which are passOnately
fond OF trufies, take the place of dogs and
| search for them article of food. Hunters
follow the sOws around and gather the truffles
as soon as the sOws begin to root.
THE trufife bed rad III Germany cost me for
rent, think, $500. ] sold the trutfles in Ham
over for $50 pound and made considerable
money. They will average about four to the
pound. There is company at Perigord
France. who are large purchasers of truffies
! They cook them and put them up in sealed tin
cans 10y secret process. The strong OdOr il not
noticeable In the canned goods. and they have
not the delicious flavor of the fresh trufes The
French use more of them than any other nation
and they are almost the only consumers i'm this
country The only objections to their universal
use is their scarcity and cost. There are plenty
OF trufie beds yet undiscovered and some day
no doubt. an improved system of searching for
them will be Invented, and this rare flavor will
become common to every table. DelmOnico
| imports trufiies for his restaurant direct from
France. He serves them sometimes with steaks
| Ike mushrooms, but seldom are they eaten
alone, on account Of their expense and because
/ the appetite of cut few can stand large dose
| OF them. They are cut into thin slices and used
principally "a a condiment for boned turkey and
chicken, scrambled eggs. fiets of beef game
and fish, When mixed in due proportion, they
add peculiar Zest and spice to sauces that can
not be found in any OTTER plant in the vegetable
kingdom. They are retaled here at 65 cents
| per Is. S1.3O per and $3.50 per a pound
There is quite large and increasing demand
| for Them