FUXGf. 



FIG. 838. Morchella crassipes. 



abundance, and in most years we have some. It is highly esteemed 

 in France, but is not much employed in this country, though I have 

 occasionally seen them for sale at Covent Garden Market. 



Mr. Worthington Smith first pointed out 

 that the Morchella crassipcs (fig. 838) was a 

 native of this country. This appears occa- 

 sionally in our garden. 



I do not know whether the Truffle (Tuber 

 cestiinnii} is ever found in our neighbourhood. 

 The truffle is a fungus which grows under- 

 ground under the shade of certain kinds of 

 trees, preference being given to the beech- 

 tree. It likes a stratum of loam lying 

 over chalk. It is found by persons who 

 specially devote their time to this object. 

 There are but few truffle-hunters in this 

 country ; nevertheless I found one after some 

 trouble, and persuaded him to take me out for a day's hunt. He 

 had an active little dog, that was trained to find the truffle by scent; 

 a bit of cheese was given to it whenever it found one. To train the 

 dog at first, a truffle was placed in an old shoe, and its food de- 

 pended on its finding out where it was. When we went out the dog 

 was told to hunt. It immediately ran backwards and forwards, and 

 as soon as it smelt a truffle, scratched the earth with its fore-paws, 

 when its master raised the soil and took it out. In two or three 

 hours we found about three pounds in weight, and during the 

 whole day the dog never made one single false point. The French 

 truffles give off a more powerful odour than the English. At the 

 Palais Royal they fetch fifteen francs a pound, whereas our English 

 tubers are sold for half-a-crown. They have never been successfully 

 grown in gardens, but it is said that in France, by sowing the out- 

 side of truffles amongst evergreen oaks, they have appeared. 



The Giant Puff-ball (Lycoperdon giganteum, fig. 839) grows in my 

 garden and in its immediate vicinity. It attains an enormous size 



