The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1909-08-28
sV'tW~ V>NeUsE
Truffles F:
and !
Their :
Story;


fle eater with the immortal hero VINO,
greatly daring, first Tentured upon ~
oyster. Its appearance is not or u
self alluring; is existence is so lar
''uncanny" that nobody used to know
how-without root. suckers or visi-
BILE seeds-it came into being. More
over, Notwithstanding the supremacy
Of the truffle among gastrononlc de-
lights, its charms are not, it Is said,
those which inspired love at first
sight-or taste. Tell me-" said
Monte Cristo to his guest, the first
time YOU tasted truffles AMI
dainties which you now adore, did
you like them?' And the implied in
itial Indifference or ever distaste
makes the subsequent federation thc
deeper and mere wonderful. For ~
chroniclers Of its virtues, saws Tho
London Globe. rise to heights OF poetic
eloquence when alludins to it. 1t -
1.-THE black diamond of modern gastro-
nomy''-"the most delicious prOduc-
ton of the earth and the gods
its fragrance is described IS resem5-
ling the various or combined odors
of the strawberry. the lily-of-the-Val-
ley, musk and the sweet, ineffab!e
perfume of rotting leaves. 1t is true
that Plinv describes this under
ground edible mushroom as "vitium
terre"-a vice of the earth-but Pliny
is alone in his depreciatory estimate,
him. They were certainly apprecia-.
ed at the gorgeous banquets OF old
Rome. Martial, though most repre-
hensibly describing the truffles as
second only to the mushroom" up
braids a greedy guest for appropriate
ing the dish to himself, and Juvenal,
describing "a feast, wakes enthusiast
tic in their praise: Then will be
served up truffles if it happen to re
spring, and the thunder devoutiy
hoped for by the epicure shall aug
ment the supper" And though these |
Syrian truffles, which would seem to |
be the only ones known to the an
clients, We're not to be compared with |
the choice species of today, yet 4 |
guest at this same banquet is so en- |
raptured with them that he bids "Ly- |
bia, keep your earn and unyoke your |
oxen. provided only you send us trut-
hes."
The idea of truffles being laid-like
eggs-by thunderstorms was fairly
generally held, and Plutarch some
where gravely associates them with
electricity. Unimaginative naturalists
of more modern date explain this
by the matter OF fact remark that
the close, humid atmospherical con.
ditions frequently synchronizing with
thunderstorms are favorable for the
development of truffles-another pic
turesque belief that they were more
plentiful at the time of the full moon
being prosaically accounted for BY
the suggestion that at the full moon
nights are lighter and consequently
better suited for finding most things,
including truffles. AS has been said
the mode of genesis of the truffla
was for long an insoluble mystery.
and there are some who say that
practically, though not scientifically,
1t is mystery still. Methods of pro-
pagating it, which met with more or
less success, were decidedly of the
empirical kind. A French servant
girl obtained satisfactory crops by
sowing small truffles with the water
in which large ones had been washed
under hedge of hornbeam; small
farmer. observing that where oaks
hourished truffles abounded, planted |
acorns, and, it is said, was rewarded
by a plenteous harvest of the "suc.
culent cryptograms."
AS to the flavor. the voluptuous con-
sistency OF the truifle. one would need
to combine the expert knowledge and
enthusiasm OF Brillat-Savarin with
the luscious imagery Of Keats to
do even approximate justice to it in ,
the opinion of its lovers. One IS ,
reminded somewhat Of Lambs allu- ;
sions to the raptures of pineapple .
It is almost too transcendent-a de. 4.
light II not sinful yet so like to sim
ming that tender conscienced per
son would do well to pause-too raw
tshing for mortal taste"-which rc-
calls to us that at one time the trui-
de was actually looked askance at c
by stern moralists rs "tco seductive, q
dear" And the latter =
.pithet was, according to some, true r
as well as morally. Avi- d
,enna considered that truffles were
sausative OF apoplexy, a dic.um that e
vas doubtless in the mind of the ami.
bile Mr. NORWOOD when he sue
.eeded in making miserable a fellow =