TEU 



[ 797] 



TEY 



pulverized clayey soil, and one oak saw 

 dust, intimately mixed. Decayed oal 

 or beech leaves would be better, probably 

 than the sawdust. If the natural soi 

 was used, he trenched it two feet deep 

 removing all the large stones, and adding 

 oak sawdust if necessary, and about one 

 tenth of powdered snail- shells if the 

 soil was too stiff. 



Choosing an aspect rather exposed t< 

 the north than the south, where no re 

 fleeted rays could fall upon it, with every 

 precaution to insure its being thoroughly 

 soaked with pure rain-water, and after 

 waiting a day or two, till it was in a 

 proper state of moisture, he made rows 

 half a foot deep, and in these, at six 

 inches distance, he placed good and sound 

 truffles, each of them being surrounded 

 with two or three handsful of oak saw- 

 dust, taking care to mark the rows accu- 

 rately. Eidges were then made over each 

 row, to prevent the truffles being injured 

 by too abundant moisture. The bed was 

 then left till the following autumn, with 

 no other precaution than, in dry weather, 

 to take care that it did not become too 

 dry. The result, we are informed, was 

 an abundant harvest every year from 

 October to January. 



Bradley, writing, in 1726, of the culti- 

 vation of the truffle in England, say?, 

 that the truffle may be easily cultivated 

 where there are woods or coppices of oak 

 or hazel, and where the soil is not too 

 stiff, or inclining to chalk. The soil 

 where they are most found is a reddish 

 sandy loam ; this will then be the best 

 for our purpose, especially if it has lain 

 long uncultivated. "When we are thus 

 provided with the proper soil, we must 

 be sure to let it lie undisturbed till we 

 are ready to plant, which will be in the 

 months of October, November, and De- 

 cember, if the weather be open ; for then 

 the truffles are to be found in their full 

 ripeness, and then, likewise, one may 

 find them in a state of putrefaction, which 

 is the time when the seeds are prepared 

 for vegetation. It is in the last state 

 that one ought to gather truffles for plant- 

 ing, or, at least, they should be in perfect 

 ripeness. The proper soil and these 

 rotten truffles being found, we may 

 begin our work as follows : Open a spot 

 of ground of a convenient space, and 

 take out the earth about eight inches 

 deep, and screen it, that it may be as fine 

 as possible ; then lay about two or three 



inches thick of this fine earth at the 

 bottom of the trench or open ground, 

 and upon it lay some of the over-ripe 

 truffles, about a foot and a half distance 

 from one another ; aad, as soon as pos- 

 sible, prepare a thin mud, made of the 

 screened earth and water, well-stirred 

 and mixed together, and pour it on the 

 truffles till the open ground is quite filled 

 up. By this means, in a few hours, the 

 ground will be as closely settled about the 

 truffles as if it had never been dug or 

 disturbed at all, and you may expect a 

 good crop in due time. You must, how- 

 ever, take care to choose your spots of 

 ground in woods or coppices, or such 

 places as are shaded with trees. Their 

 favourite tree is the oak, or the ilex or 

 evergreen oak, as the elm is the favourite 

 of the morille. Notwithstanding these 

 statements, it is quite certain that, at 

 present, the art of cultivating the truffle 

 is not known in England; and it will 

 remain unknown, probably, until we have 

 discovered how its spawn can be prepared 

 as for cultivating the mushroom. 



Mr. Gower says he recommended an 

 old truffle- hunter to bury, at the proper 

 depth, some of his truffles that were in a 

 state of decay and unfit for the table 

 under one of the unproductive trees 

 sufficient in stature and in umbrageous 

 development. At the beginning of next 

 winter, when his visit was repeated, he 

 sought for Mr. G-., and told him, with 

 great satisfaction, that the scheme had 

 answered ; for he had found two or three 

 pounds of excellent truffles beneath the 

 litherto barren tree. By following this 

 example, proprietors of trees adapted to 

 xuffles, and where the proper trees have 

 )een planted, may, in a short period, do 

 that which a lapse of years, unassisted, 

 would not effect. Of all trees the cedar 

 f Lebanon is the most favourable to the 

 growth of the truffle. 



TRUMPET FLOWER. Bigno'nia. 

 TRUSS is the florist's name for what 

 botanists call an umbel of flowers, where 

 everal flowers have their stalks united 

 ,t one common centre, and thus spring 

 rom the root or branch on one stem, as 

 n the auricula, polyanthus, and cowslip. 

 See PIP. 



TRYMA'LIUM. (Not explained. Nat. 

 >rd., Rhamnads [Ehamnaceffi]. Linn., 

 'Pentandria \-Monogy 'ma.) 

 Greenhouse evergreen shrubs, from New Hoi- 

 and. For culture, see POMADE'RRIS. P.globu- 

 'sa and P. Wendlandia'na belong to this genus. 



