PURE AND IMPURE FOODS. 



" What a Man Eats He Zr." 



Edited by C. F. LangwoIithy, Ph.D. 



Author of " On Citraconic, Itaconic and Mesaconic Acids," " Fish as Food," etc. 



TRUFFLES AND TRUFFLE GROWING. 



The French call truffles "kitchen dia- 

 monds, le diamant de la cuisine," a title 

 which, in the opinion of French cooks, they 

 deserve, on account of their perfection for 

 culinary purposes. Truffles are a species 

 of edible fungi which develop under 

 ground. They could not be readily found 

 by ordinary means, and, therefore, are 

 hunted with the aid of pigs and dogs which 

 are trained to search for them, being guid- 

 ed, probably, by their sense of smell. 



According to a recent writer "truffles are 

 still considered a great luxury, although 

 they are comparatively cheap to what they 

 were 60 years ago. Until within 50 years, 

 the civilized world did practically without 

 this luxury, which was, however, known 

 and appreciated by the Romans. Brillat- 

 Savarin, in his famous work, says that from 

 the time of the Romans to the beginning of 

 the 19th century there was a long inter- 

 regnum, and that the resurrection of the 

 truffle was then quite recent. The popu- 

 larity of truffles is not confined to France 

 alone, for they are much used and highly 

 esteemed as a great delicacy throughout 

 Europe and America. The finest specimens 

 are found in France. Those found in some 

 parts of England are of an inferior color 

 and quality to those obtained from France, 

 and in consequence command only a low 

 price. The part of France known as the 

 Department of the Vaucluse, situated in 

 the Southeastern part of the country, be- 

 tween the Alps and the mouth of the Rhone, 

 is the chief truffle-growing center. There 

 the annual output averages 900,000 pounds. 

 The season commences in November and 

 ends in March, and the old town of Carpen- 

 tras is the principal truffle market. The 

 sales begin about 7 o'clock in the morning 

 on market days, and much of the business 

 is done in a large cafe, where the wine 

 growers also meet to bargain for vine roots.. 



"In former years truffles were, not culti- 

 vated. The peasants of the neighborhood 

 went out to seek them wherever by chance 

 they could be found. Pigs and dogs are 

 trained to hunt for the truffles, which have 

 a pungent odor appealing to the animals' 

 sense of smell. Pigs especially enjoy the 

 delicacy, and care has to be taken that they 

 do not devour what they find. The method 

 employed is for the truffle hunter to go out 

 accompanied by a pig and carrying 2 bags, 



one empty for truffles, and the other con- 

 taining acorns. When a place is reached 

 where truffles are to be found the pig digs 

 a large hole with its snout, scattering the 

 earth and stones right and left. The hunter 

 keeps close watch, and as soon as a truffle 

 is found gives the animal a tap on the 

 snout, takes the truffle, and replaces it by 

 putting a few acorns in front of the pig, 

 which are eaten instead. Young pigs be- 

 gin their education in truffle hunting when 

 a month old. They then accompany their 

 mothers. After a time some pigs get to be 

 so well trained that they will dig, find the 

 truffle, seize it in their teeth, and throw it 

 on one side ; but such well educated animals 

 are to be found only on artificial farms. 

 Two large sows have been known to find 

 50 pounds of truffles, valued at $120, in 

 4 hours. 



"Dogs are also trained and used instead 

 of pigs.. They go more quickly and are 

 easier to lead and manage. Basset hounds 

 and sheep dogs are principally used, but 

 as they only point at the truffles and do not 

 dig, they are chiefly employed by young 

 men, who do the digging. Old men, wom- 

 en and children hunt with the pigs. 



"In former years the idea of cultivating 

 truffles would have been scouted. It was 

 discovered one day by an enterprising farm- 

 er in the neighborhood of Carpentras, that 

 truffles grew only under a certain species 

 of oak. He picked the acorns off these 

 trees and sowed them in November, close 

 together, in furrows about 6 yards apart, 

 and running from North to South. Moder- 

 ate warmth is necessary for the production 

 of truffles, and not too much humidity or 

 too great dryness. The object of sowing 

 the acorns so close together was that, as 

 they always attract rats, a great number 

 would be destroyed, and the young plants 

 could easily be thinned as they grew. The 

 plot of ground selected was not favorable 

 for grain, and had never returned more 

 than $20 an acre. As truffles do not pro- 

 duce any results for 6 to 10 years after the 

 planting of the oak trees, the farmer planted 

 vines between the furrows, which produced 

 sufficient fruit to more than pay the cost 

 of culture. At the end of 10 years the 

 vines were choked by the roots of the oaks. 

 Great care must be taken not to put manure 

 near the roots of the trees, for that would 

 be fatal to the truffles,," 



