248 



Cl//?/?S.Vr GARDEN LORE. 



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TULIK 



Put 



good drainage, holes being made in the sides of ths box 

 near the bottom to allow of the escape of the water. The 

 bulbs should be an inch below the surface and be firmly 

 planted, not exposed as hyacinth-bulbs are. and asp-in'-:- 

 ling of soot over the 

 soil will be useful to 

 keep slugs and in- 

 sects away. The 

 box may be drained 

 with potsherds o\ L 

 the holes, with fin - 

 ashes above them ; 

 and a layer of mo. 

 sprinkled with soo; . 

 covering the drain- 

 age, will keep it 

 all clear. Water 

 and place the box m 

 the garden until the 

 end of November, 

 when it may be re- 

 moved to a window- 

 in a room without a 

 fire. Plenty of air 

 in mild weather is necessary, and the box should be kept 

 as near the glass as possible. — Gardeyiing Illustrated. 



Use the Sponge Freely on Plant-Leaves. — One 

 of the difficulties in the cultivation of plants in a sitting- 

 room is that the dry air and dust from an open fire tend 

 to clog the pores of the leaves. Deprived of the rain 

 which would naturally cleanse them, and not often wat- 

 ered with a rose-pot or syringed, the plants kept in a 

 room are apt gradually to lose their health and look mis- 

 erable even if they do not altogether die. The best rem- 

 edy for this is the regular use of a small piece of soft old 

 sponge with slightly warm water, and in the case of 

 "blighted" plants a little yellow soap, soft soap or in- 

 secticide. Especially is this necessary in the winter 

 when dust is rife, and as "blight" is then at its weakest 

 point a thorough cleansing during the cold months will re- 

 sult in freedom from it during the summer. Practice 

 and delicate handling are needed for success. Some 

 plants are much easier to sponge than others. Amongst 

 these may be reckoned the India-rubber plant and also 

 small specimens of palms, both of which need constant 

 washing when grown in a room. Arums, too, with their 

 splendid leaves, are often subject to an attack of 

 greenfly if left unwashed, but the stems of their 

 great leaves are very succulent and easily broken down. 

 Orange-trees and many other plants exude a kind of 

 sticky, essential oil, which catches the dust ; they there- 

 fore require special attention, warm water and a little 

 yellow soap being necessary to cleanse them if they should 

 have been neglected. The young shoots are extremely 

 brittle, breaking off with a very slight touch. Orange- 

 trees, therefore, should receive special attention in their 

 dormant season, so that sponging may not be necessary 

 just as the spring shoots appear. Aspidistras and mi" 7 

 other plants need sponging often to keep their health ; in 



fact, all plants with evergreen foliage and any others, 

 which will bear it are strengthened and improved by the 

 use of the sponge. — Gardeninff Illustrated. 



Truffles in France. — Some interesting information on 

 truffles is given by Consul Horace G. Knowles, of Bor- 

 deaux. There are three species of truffles found in France 

 — the black and most common, the white (highly prized), 

 and the t ruffe a I' ail, which has a flavor of garlic. 

 They are found in all soils, but chiefly in oak forests or 

 where the earth is damp and calcareous, thriving best in 

 an almost sterile soil. In appearance the ordinary 

 truffle is about the size of a walnut, with a rough 

 brown, warty surface, closely akin to the potato ; which 

 it likewise resembles in consistency though not in color. 

 Not yielding to cultivation, they must be sought for in 

 chance places, nor is the method of obtaining them the 

 less interesting. The pig has a vigorous appetite for this 

 subterranean morsel. It is a decided passion with the 

 race ; so that, as the day dawns, out he is led to perform 

 a duty which, though rather odious and disappointing to 

 him, is particularly lucrative to his master. As the scent 

 of the fox leads hounds to the trail, so the odor of truffles 

 attracts the porker to the cherished bed. He sniffs about, 

 this way and that, until he locates the desired object, when 

 he immediately begins to root up the earth with his awk- 

 ward snout. He is closely watched during the operation 

 by his owner, who, upon the swine uprooting the truffle, 

 whacks him sharply over the nose with a stick. In the 

 responsive grunt of pain which follows this brutal blow 

 the soft, moist fungus is dropped from the animal's jaws, 

 and before he can again pick it up it is bagged by the 

 hunter. The beast, nothing daunted, presses on to an- 

 other spot, where, hidden a few inches below the surface 

 of the ground are more of the epicurean dainties. And 

 thus, after numerous repetitions of the same performance, 

 the animal, thoroughly disappointed, gives up in disgust 

 and submits to being led back to his pen ; but on the 

 morrow, thanks to the pig's short memory, the occurrences 

 of the day before are completely forgotten, and he experi- 

 ences again the same joy and pain, hope and disappoint- 

 ment, expectation and defeat. Recently it has been found 

 that dogs could be trained to perform the duties that are in- 

 stinctive to the pig, and so great is the demand in France 

 for the truffle that many of the canine species are now in 

 certain districts possessed of this estimable talent. 

 Scarcely is there a canning establishment at this moment 

 in France that does not, among other alimentary products, 

 preserve this dainty. It has become as indispensable to 

 the dinner-table of the noblesse as the aromatic sprig of 

 garlic to the frugal repast of the peasant. The annual 

 production is valued at about $3,000,000. The article is 

 sold at $1 per pound and almost double that price in the 

 larger cities. Not alone in France do the truffles thrive ; 

 they are found in quantities in Italy, Spain and Holland, 

 but are of indifl:erent quality compared with the French, 

 lacking the delicate and incomparable flavor of the native 

 product. In the United States, especially in California, 

 some attention has been given within the last few years 

 to the gathering and preserving of truffles, and a number 



