TRU 



[ 893 ] 



TRU 



mixed. Decayed oak or beech leaves 

 would be better, probably, than the 

 sawdust. If the natural soil 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 

 to the north than the south, where no 

 reflected 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 sis inches distance, he placed 

 good and sound truffles, each of them 

 being surrounded with two or three 

 handfuls of oak sawdust, taking care to 

 mark the rows accurately. Ridges were 

 then made over each row, to prevent 

 the truffles being injured by too abund- 

 ant 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 

 cultivation of the truffle in England, 

 says, that the truffle may be easily cul- 

 tivated where there are woods or cop- 

 pices 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 undis- 

 turbed till we are ready to plant, which 

 will be in the months of October, 

 November, and December, 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 planting 

 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 

 nches 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; and, 

 as soon as possible, 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, however, 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 state- 

 ments, it is quite certain that, at pre- 

 sent, 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 mush- 

 room. 



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 um- 

 brageous development. At the begin- 

 ning 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 hitherto barren 

 tree. By following this example, pro- 

 prietors of trees adapted to truffles, and 

 where the proper trees have been 

 planted, may, in a short period, do that 

 which a lapse of years, unassisted, 

 would not effect. Of all trees the cedar 

 of 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, 



