The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1894-02-07
.TRUFFLE, TRAFFIC.
GATHERING THE ESCULENT
TUBER FOR TABLE USE.
What Truffles Are-Tricks OF Adul.
teration-Hogs and Dogs Trained
In France to Hunt Them
Where They Grow.

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Henry Haynie, in a Paris let
ter to the Picsyune, trufies
have realized two guineas
per poun:, md therefore they are
very costly in relation to the nutri-.
ment supplied. Still they are aroma
tic, agreeable and fashionable foods,
though they are rather difficult Of
digestion.
The export of truf1es from France
has of late years assumed very large
proportion. Unfortunately for lovers
of these delicious tubers, like most
other comestibles, they have not es-
capped. adulteration, and the tricks of
those who tamper with the necessaries
and luxuries of the table. The truf-
fes of export and commerce are COM
posed of old cloth bought of the rag
gatherers and made into pulp, and
afterward hardened, or, if the mer-
chant is really conscientious, of dis
eased potatoes. The blush tint of the
sickly vegetable is said to be easily
changed for the genuine trufle color
by little chemical 'sleight of hand, 4
and when the desired effect is OBJ
tanned, the imposter is carefully
shaped and rolled in a soil prepared
for the purpose, much after the fash
ion confectioners employ in coating
almonds with sugar. Thus manipula-
ted, the homely but diseased potato
becomes the aristocratic trufae.
If this practice is really carried out
to any great extent it is not surprising
that persons who taste the supposed
delicacy for the first time aver that
they do not find anything extraordi-
nary in trufdes. That truf1es are fraud
ulently dealt with, and that sham truf-
fes, when cut up in pieces in pies and
other comestlbles, are freely used can
not be gainsaid. The gray and almost
valueIess tubers are darkened and.
mixed with scraps of the Perigord to-
give them something like q proper
taste, and whole trufies are often ar
tistically stuffed with clay to increase
their size and weight, while walnut
rinds and q variety of nuts are also
used for the real article. Thus truf-
fes are no exception to the category
of mundane valities.
The trufae hunting or collecting
season may be said to open with Octo-t
Der and concludes with the end of the )
year, though with a view to future
production it is thought better not to
disturb the ground after the end Of
November. Trufies (from the Latin
tuber), like mushrooms, belong to the
great family of the fungi, but are q :
distinct and very peculiar genus. They
are very cryptogamic plants, and sub
terranean in their habits, their posi-.
tion beneath the soil varying from one
to two inches to two feet in depth.
They have neither root, stem nor leaf,
and are of different shades of color,
from light brown to black. They Are,
more or less globular in form, and
vary in size from that of flbert to
that of large egg. Their surface is
knotty or warty, and covered with g.
skin which forms sort Of network Of
serpentine veins.
Truf1es grow in pastures and on
open downs far away from any trees,
as we'll as under their shade. They
prefer loose soils and affect the neigh
borhood OF trees, especially oak, beech
and chestnuts, though they do not
grow in aay large numbers in thick
woods.
Truf1es are found in most temperate
parts of the world, and are fairly com-
mon in central and southern Europe,
particularly in France, where the
Poitou and Perigord districts are
most prolific, and in Italy, where Pied
mont carries off the palm. Algeria
also contributes quantity. They are
found in various parts in the southern
districts of England, but they are by
no means as common as they once
were.
French trufles are decidedly supe-,
rior to those of any other country, but
they vary in favor according to local
ity. In the northeast of France they,
are grayish in color and nearly taste
less, further south, in the 1sere and
the Gard, they have musky taste,!
which is stronger in those grown in
Savoy in Burgundy they are smaller,
dry and have flavor of rosin; but the
Ouercy or Perigord truf6e-somewhat
angular in form, firm and marked with
yellowish streaks-is the kind dear to,
gourmets. Perigord pie is famous
throughout the civilized world, and
without the subtle flavor imported byl
the presence of the Perigord tuber
pate de foie gras would lose more than
half its value.
Everyone has probably heard of
trufae- hunting dogs, that is, dogs
trained for the purpose Of finding the
tubers, as pointer or setter does game,
by scent. There is no special kind Of
dog used for this purpose. 1t is mere
matter of training; but, as matter
Of course, the progeny of animals
which have been used for the purpose
are more easily trained than others.
In France the trufae dogs seem to be-
called "Loulous," term which is sugi
gestive of an English cry in the cours-
ing field, when the greyhounds are
slipped at a hare. The method Of
''breaking" them is to give them for a
time pieces of trufaes every morning
before they are allowed to partake OF
any other food. After certain period,
when their appetite for truffles in
creases, pieces are hidden in the
ground. and they are made to find