192 



INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF FUNGI 



that ill Apt upwards of four thousand pounds are sold every 

 week durini;- the height of the season, whilst the department 

 of Vaucluse yields about thirty tons per annum." 

 V" .; Berkeley says that "though a few species are not 

 S^X^:^:'\ confined to limestone formations, it may be 

 assumed in general that Truffles require a cal- 

 careous soil for their growth, and that they increase 

 Fig. 80.— ^^^ number of species and individuals as we approach 



Spiuulose , . . A -1 1 A 1 • p 1 • • 



sporidium the southern limits of our island. And it this is 

 of Truffle. ^^^^^ ^^ Trufflcs in general, it is more especially so 

 as regards the esculent kinds, which are alone likely to be 

 objects of cultivation." 



The problem of Truffle cultivation has been discussed 

 over and over again, and experiments have been made, 

 with more or less success. MM. Tulasne have shown that 

 an abundant spawn is produced in several genera. The 

 common Truffle exhibits in the soil in which it grows, durmg 

 the month of September, a profuse mycelium of white 

 cylindrical strings, more slender than sewing -thread, which 

 themselves consist of multitudes of delicate articulated 

 filaments, communicating with a kind of byssoid mass, some 

 lines in thickness, surrounding the young Truffles. This mass 

 soon disappears, so that only a few isolated filaments remain 

 attached to the surface of the Truffle. 



Attempts have been made from time to time to propagate 

 Truffles, or to produce a saleable spawn, but hitherto with but 

 small results. In the south of France one nobleman succeeded 

 in raising Truffles in his woods by sprinkling the soil with water 

 in which the parings of Truffles had been rubbed down, and 

 protecting the ground. 



Some trees appear to be more favourable to the production 

 of Truffles than others. Oak and hornbeam are especially 

 mentioned, but besides these chestnut, birch, box, and hazel 

 are alluded to. The old Truflie hunters obtained them chiefly 

 under beech, and in mixed plantations of fir and beech. 



Count de Borch and M. Bornholz wrote the chief accounts of 

 Truffle culture. " They inform us that a compost was prepared 

 of pure mould and vegetable soil, mixed with dry leaves and 

 sawdust, in which, when properly moistened, mature Truffles 



