inner substance scarcely marked by the veins ; at wliich period tlie French bring them to market as " Truffes 

 d'ete "; being however very insipid and indigestible, it is a pity to take them up at that season. They are 

 excellent for the table from October to January ; black, and covered with bark or rind which is composed of 

 irregular, angular prominences. On cutting them across the substance resenibles a waxy potatoe, but a maze 

 of white veins intersects it ; at a later season the flesh grows dusky, and the veins, from the ripening of the 

 sporidia, dark; soon after tliis the whole substance of the tuber "melts into a kind of pap" (Paulet), and 

 thus doubtless affords nutriment to the germinating plant till it is able to digest conunoner aliment. But all 

 this is performed underground, and jSTature keeps back many secrets from the most earnest of mortal inquirers. 



The Ti'uifies lie from two to eight inches deep, they vary in size according to the niunber that possess 

 the parent nest, which is from two or tliree to a dozen ; when there are as many as this their shape is rendered 

 e.iitremely irregular by reciprocal pressure. Truffles, " as large as a man's head and weigliing one poimd and 

 a half," (Krombliolz) are unknowii in England, the average size being from that of a nutmeg to a hen's egg. 



It is a lucrative business in some districts, for the season begins at " bird-shooting " and lasts till spring, 

 the produce selling at half-a-crown tlie pound ; it is therefore a cherished trade-secret, and those who follow 

 it generally seek to mislead the enquiring botanist, believing him to be a rival, and likely to rob them of 

 their profits. It is said that in Italy and the south of France it may be known where these favourites lie, by 

 the growth of Cistus Meraria, Linn. It is not an English plant, however, having been introduced by 

 Miller in 1748. 



Of medical properties the Tuber cibarium is probably innocent ; the Tuher ceiTinHiii,^\«^\\ovQ.yces oi 

 Nees (Fries), \\\Ac\\ Mattliiolus distinguishes as Fungus c-enitiiis, is the plant the old physicians seem to 

 have had in view in their pharmacies and is the Li/coperdoii, cervlniim of Linnaeus, but the Scleroderma too has 

 been called L. cervhium, and in some s3aionj'mes is confomided vAi\\ the Truffle. The Li/coperdon Tuler of 

 Linnaeus, generally quoted as Tuber cibarium, is ElcqjJiomi/ces vmricatus. This is rare in England, so is the 

 BhizopogoH, or white Truffle. There is no other Fungus that can be confounded ■with the true black 

 Truffle, Tartufo nero, of Italy ; if the commonest observation is employed, one rule is certain and simple, notliing 

 is a Truffle that grows in part above ground. 



According to the best authorities. Truffles are very wholesome and nutritious. The highest tlavom' lies 

 in the skin, so that it is wrong to jiare them, they should be merely weU brushed in water. The aroma is 

 almost entirely lost in drying, they cannot therefore be eaten too fresh, and if sent to a distance should be 

 closely packed in damp sand. Much disappointment is often expressed that so costly and renowned an 

 article should be so insipid; it is not o\^dug to any difference of national perception in matters of taste, so 

 much as to the fact that in England Truffles are comparatively worthless, from behig purchased and used in 

 a dried state. 



They may be stewed in champagne, with a httle oil or butter and pepper and salt ; being tliinly sliced, 

 they will require half an hour to become sufficiently cooked. A friend, native of that locality, informs me 

 that simply boiled, the only condiment used being salt, the Tuber cibarium, or Black Truffle, is eaten as a 

 reUsh with wme at Tanjier, and the neighbourhood; they abound also at Gibraltar, where they may be 

 purchased at a most reasonable rate, and being carefidly packed in earth have often been transmitted to 

 London friends, in excellent condition. This hint may serve to direct EngUsli mercantile enterprise into a 

 new channel, and we do not despair of the Nmnidian Truffle also, wliich the Romans trafficked in as a most 

 valuable luxury, being introduced at the tables of our modern epiciues, the voyage being quick and certain. 



If the earth beneath trees is slightly heaved up and cracked, in the situations and soils wliich have been 

 mentioned as favourable to the growth of Truffles, it is well worth the trouble of a search to ascertain whether 

 they are present or not. A strong long-toothed iron rake penetrates deeply enough to extricate them under 

 such circumstances ; for this hint I am indebted to Mr. Berkeley, and it may be satisfactory to know that 

 the same great authority prefers them roasted in the embers. 



