TRUFFLES. l6l 



XXIV.— TRUFFLES. 



If any fungi merit the title of aristocratic it must be 

 truffles, whether considered in relation to their 

 market value or the uses to which they are applied. 

 The poor man may enjoy his " vegetable beefsteak " 

 or his "vegetable sweetbread," and even indulge in 

 " procerus pie " or stewed " hedgehog," but he is 

 innocent of the flavour of truffles, and does not regale 

 himself with pate de fois gras. In former times the 

 hunting for truffles was a branch of industry practised 

 in Sussex and Kent, but in these degenerate days 

 truffle-hunting is almost unknown, and native truffles 

 rarely seen. Possibly as many truffles as ever lie 

 concealed beneath the surface of the Downs, but to 

 collect them is an occupation which does not pay, 

 and our supplies are derived from France. The 

 French truffle has the credit of possessing a superior 

 flavour, and can be supplied at a lower price. At 

 any rate there are people to be found who prefer, or 

 seem to prefer, anything of foreign origin to a like 

 article of native produce. 



Truffles are subterranean fungi which grow and 

 perfect themselves beneath the surface of the soil, 

 and give no indication of their whereabouts. They 

 have the appearance of irregular, black, warty no- 



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