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ROYAL nOHTICULTTJEAL SOCIETY. 



" The commencement of the truffle-season depends a great deal on 

 the soil j we have some places where we get them as early as July 

 and August, but we do not begin the general hunt till September; 

 I depend chiefly on the weather. If we have a stormy bloomy 

 summer, the truffles come early and fine ; but if dry, they are back- 

 ward and very indifferent, and get the dryrot and canker. We 

 find the earliest truffles under the youngest trees in the truffle- 

 grounds, where the morning sun can penetrate ; but where the 

 shade is deeper, the midwinter hunt is the best. The lighter the 

 soil, the earlier the truffles. The latter season depends much on 

 the weather. The very dry season we had last September spoiled 

 the season all through, as the truffles were coming on well till the 

 drought set in, and that killed the spawn, so that we had but a 

 middling season. They have been more plentiful and finer the 

 last "fortnight (the first two weeks of March) than they were 

 before. We keep on hunting as long as sufficient truffles are to 

 be found to pay for our time. I have got them us late as May ; 

 but this is very rare ; we get a few generally in March and April ; 

 but you must not go over the same ground very often late in the 

 season — not oftener than once a fortnight. When the season is 

 in, and the truffles tolerably plentiful, the ground should be 

 hunted once a week, and then what you get are sound and good. 

 The ground will be barren for years, if you lop off the lower limbs 

 or cut down neighbouring trees or undershrubs. If it is too much 

 trod by cattle, the truffles are sure to be small, if they do not fail 

 entirely. As for transplanting them, I have known it tried in 

 many ways but without any success ; for as soon as they are moved, 

 if ever so small, they cease growing. The less the ground is dis- 

 turbed, the finer and better the produce." 



This exactly accords with the Editor's experience, who has 

 known a very productive ground completely destroyed by injudi- 

 cious digging. The Chiswick board is by no means sanguine as 

 to the result, but they thought it imperative on them to make the 

 experiment. Dr. Lindley once sent the Editor a supposed brick 

 of truffle spawn, but it came apparently from an unknown corre- 

 spondent, who promised that he should have spawn for sale very 

 shortly. Nothing, however, came of it. Success would be highly 

 remunerative. 



April 17. — At this Meeting Mr. Veitch exhibited some beauti- 

 fully bloomed plants of Triclwpilia, among which was Tricliopilia 

 snavis superba, a charming variety, more brightly coloured than 

 the species. Mr. Salter produced a bright crimson Camellia 



