

TRUFFLE. 237 



TONGUES. See under Beef. 



TRUFFLE. (Tuber cibarium.) This vegetable has 

 never been grown in this country, but in France artificial 

 beds have been constructed with a view to produce these 

 luxuries. They grow always several inches below the sur- 

 face of the ground, so that, in making artificial beds, great 

 care is- taken to mark the rows where the truffles are plant- 

 ed. To construct these beds, the best garden-soil is taken, 

 trenched two feet deep, and the stones carefully removed ; to 

 this soil is added, in proportions of one tenth, well-powdered 

 snail-shells, two parts of well-pulverized clayey soil, and one 

 part of oak saw-dust, or, which is better, vegetable mould 

 formed from decayed oak or beech leaves, to seven parts of 

 good garden-soil. A southern or warm aspect is to be avoid- 

 ed. The bed should be soaked a day or two, then rows 

 made half a foot in depth, and perfect healthy truffles 

 planted six inches apart. The bed should in dry weather be 

 kept moist. 



In Europe dogs are trained to hunt for truffles, discover- 

 ing them by their scent. Epicures regard them as above all 

 price, and near large cities their cultivation would no doubt 

 amply repay the trouble and expense of preparing a bed. 

 These vegetables grow in clusters. 



They are used in cooking precisely as the mushroom, but 

 before cooking they are soaked in warm water for three or 

 four hours ; then they require hard brushing with a hair- 

 brush kept for such purposes, to have all the earth removed 

 from them ; if peeled, they do not look so handsomely, but 

 taste better. They are frequently gently simmered with a 

 nice seasoning of sweet herbs, spices, a little rich broth, and 

 two or three glasses of sherry, and when tender, baked, after 

 being taken from the stewpan, for about twenty minutes in a 

 moderate oven, then placed in a dish with mashed potatoes for 



