57* 



GA RDENERS MA GA ZINE. 



September 3i tiA 



known as Tuber melanosporum, and raised in Dordo 



ne - The total 



ooo 



The French Truffle Industry. 



The truffle is such a curious plant that there is nothing extraordinary in DCilllllK a vaiUC U1 S1 Mam * ana ninp r 



its being enveloped in legends. It is simply a mushroom, developing in output are con sumed in France, either in the fresh or ° the 



land at a depth varying from six to eight inches, and of a volume limited England and Belgium take the remainder Fran?* preserved state ; 



-Its origin has exercised the qua mity of truffles from Italy-which are the best ^^afteT^ * ^ 



to the size of an ordinary apple or orange 



ingenuity of the ancient as well as of the modern worlds. Nicander 

 alleged that truffles were formed from mud, modified by the earth's 

 central heat, while Plutarch affirmed that their formation depended upon 

 thunder. Phorphyry ranked them as children of the gods. Theophrastus 

 laid down that the truffle was a vegetable raised from seed like other 

 vegetables, while M. de Valsenes of our own days — two thousand years 

 later — protests against that opinion. But no one denies the comestible 

 value of the truffle, its delicate, almost strawberry perfume, and of its 

 power — as Brillat-Savarin observed— to make ladies tender-hearted, and 

 gentlemen amiable. In point of flavour, and delicacy of fragrance, the 

 French Perigord truffle has no equal. It is really the queen of truffles, 

 and made its first appearance in Paris towards the end of the fifteenth 

 century. Its botanical name is Tuber melanosporum. Other parts of 

 France cultivate truffles, and of different varieties ; Italy raises many, and 

 England not a few. 



The truffle prefers a light soil, above all a calcareous one, and desires 

 to be in proximity to oak or nut trees — it can also put up with beech and 

 birch — and develops within the range of their rootlets. It does not like 

 a too humid situation, nor a rich soil, nor a greater altitude than six 

 hundred yards above the sea ; a northern aspect is objectionable. A 

 humid spring, followed by a warm, stormy, and dry summer, constitutes 

 its ideal. No ailimentary substance suffers more readily from atmospheric 

 variations than do truffles. The truffle heats or freezes quickly, and 

 hence decomposes. It is also eccentric, for it delights to develop slowly 

 away from other plants. In spring it is but the size of a small cherry, 

 soft, and devoid of fragrance ; in summer the tissue becomes more firm, 

 grey veins set in, and the aroma arrives ; by November or December, it 

 possesses all its most valuable perfume. Towards the end of winter it 

 turns black, parts with all its qualities, and decomposes, 

 causes the truffle to lose its aroma and consistence. The Perigord truffle 

 can be recognised by its brownish black or violet flesh, traversed by 

 several white veins, shining and bordered with red ; and its delicate 

 perfume and agreeable flavour. 



There are pigs and dogs that are employed to discover and unearth 

 truffles ; the pig— a sow especially, because much more intelligible— is 

 preferred, it can also dig down deeper into the hardest soil, while a dog 

 soon becomes tired of scratching the soil and bringing nothing to light, 

 so leaves the work for the master to finish. 



prepares them extensively for the English market. 



some 



Can truffieres, or artificial truffle beds, be created ? is a a 

 ie interest. The answer is yes, and such exist in many placeT^The 



Agricultural Society of the Department of the Lot awards prizes at i 

 shows to truffle growers In the Vancluse, where the cultivation is extJ 



its 

 exten- 



sive, 450 tons are annually exported. Waste 



truffles, and the price of 



such land is now 4,000 fr. per acre. The Departments of the Lower 

 Alps and the Lot produce 350 tons ; Dordogne and the Drome ;oo 



ton S Ind ^- d ' fift V-° ne , out of the eighty-nine Departments now 'raise 

 truffles. Of course, the quality varies with locality, so truffles are 

 divided into three commercial categories ; the first from Perigord 

 Angoumois, and Piedmont, the last from Normandy and the Seine. ' 



In Dordogne and Ladouze, the Mayor, M. Maligne, lost the vines on 

 his estate of two hundred acres from the phylloxera. He converted 

 his land into a truffiere, and with great success. 



of an acre of tubers is said to be 450 fr. 



The average net profit 



The beds last for twenty-five 

 or thirty years, or for ever, if attention be paid to the oaks ; the culture 

 exacts no manure, no labour. Truffles kill off all vegetation ; when the 

 latter shows it is a sure sign that the truffle bed is worn out. In the 

 Vancluse, the two year old oaks— the white variety is the best— are 

 planted one hundred and twenty inches asunder, and double that distance 

 between the rows ; or, the acorns can be sown in spring and the plants 

 thinned out later. The truffle grows at the roots of several species of 

 trees, but chiefly the white and green oak. The soil ought to be 

 calcareous, somewhat sandy, porous, rich in humus, resting on a shallow 

 permeable subsoil of stones and humus. Five years after the oaks ; 



carefully trained for truffle hunting in France. 



Both dogs and pigs are 



a young woman 



The peasant — :i man or 



sets off in the morning with the animal, which soon 



Heat also planted, the truffles will appear, and be recognized by the disappearance 



of all vegetation or weeds ; they first show close to the trunks, and then 

 extend laterally, so as to be always in touch with the range of the out- 

 spreading roots. The oaks ought to be pruned to resemble an inverted 

 sugar loaf, for truffles must have plenty of air as well as light. Spores 

 which fall on the soil produces the mycelium, or white threads known as 

 spawn, and growers in addition scatter some earth from existing truffle 

 grounds over the new beds ; parings of truffles are also strewn. Truffles 

 are gathered at various periods ; for instance, the Perigord, from October 

 to April j the summer varieties, from May till July ; and the others from 



October to December. Edward Conner. 



finds out the truffle bed by the perfume emitted. The peasant has a bag 

 into which the truffles are dropped, and this has a side pocket containing 

 small pieces of chese, bread, or glands, with which to reward the dog or 

 pig as soon as a "black diamond "is discovered. Often squirrels are 

 about the spot, for they also like the dainty esculent. 



The peasant has a staff tipped with iron to dig out the exposed find. 



possessing a finer nose or snout, can 

 scent a concealed truffle forty yards away. Scenting the esculent, it 

 makes direct for it, inserts her snout into the ground, and soon uncovers 

 the prize. 1 hat done, the animal awaits its reward, generally an acorn 

 or a piece of cheese. The pig commences to hunt for truffles when 

 two years old, is in its prime at four years, and can continue that 

 natural calling till aged twenty-five. A good pig has been known to 

 indicate 40 lbs. weight of truffles in a rooting day, however, 12 lbs. 

 weig nt forms the average of a good day's work. The kind of dog preferred 

 to hunt up truffles as its game, is of small breed ; it barks with delight when- 

 ever a fine truffle is laid bare and feels sad if the day is not 

 lucrative. It occasionally happens that a "nugget truffle " is discovered 

 weighing eight to sixteen ounces. The truffles are next sorted out into 

 three sues by being passed through osier sieves ; often the classification 

 is merely made by hand. The town of Apt, in the department of the 

 v anciuse, is the great French market for truffles ; the peasants bring 

 tnere every .Saturday morning during the season— which commences in 

 i\ovember--a week's gathering, never in baskets, but in sacks or rolled 

 up in cloths. The wholesale dealers in preserves arrive— from Car- 

 pentras espec.ally-to purchase supplies and take away the produce in 



1 arts. After the local industries have been supplied, the exportation of 

 trurties commences Vancluse sells annually over four million francs' 

 worth, a good deal of adulteration is practised in the industry, 

 independent of mixings from the twenty varieties cultivated or sold, 

 r or instance, they are coated with earth to appear large, again, small 



co^H 1;S? CS 5? oft e n P inned together. Frozen truffles are thawed, 



2 2 rth « and bits of lead or stone included to add to their 



mixed witW C ?K are /° ,d 7\ ade of P ari "?s of true truffles, after being 

 reran, If t ^ "5$ moulded Occasionally potatos are utilized, mere 

 tL .1 • CS added ' and the mass cov ered over with brown earth. 



differ rwn^n 7 ? £ truffle is V ^V g reat ' thou 8 h doctors 



?empe ^ '"K -ts digestibility, but the latter c£i vary with individu; 



New Trailing Roses. 



Rosa Luci.k— R. Wichuraiana of American gardens— is already becom.ng 

 popular in this country for covering ground, for rooteries, &c, and some of the 

 hybrids of which it has been one parent have been exhibited in London, oru 

 Manda's Triumph, having been figured in our columns. Mr. W. A. Manda, 

 who resides in South Orange, New Jersey, U.S.A., has been working with the 

 popular very hardy trailing or climbing R. Wichuraiana as a seed parent since 

 he started for himself at South Orange, and his set of hybrids sent out two yean 

 ago have had a deserved and wide popularity, but, says a correspondent to 

 Gatdening (Chicago), it is pre-eminently under the raiser's care that the merits 01 

 these beautiful creations can best be seen. He has tested them in every conceiv- 

 able way, on dry hill sides, in the shade, their roots exposed to the winter, ana 

 Mr. Robert M. Gray forced a set of them at Julius Roehrs', and found them « 

 free flowering as Crimson Rambler- With their fast multiplying colours 1 ana 

 extreme floriferousness, their ease of propagation and consequent greater cheap- 

 ness, it seems to me this class of roses are likely to run the azalea 



the n ret r»lu^o nc A,-.-:-.,,) tt» . „ 



the 



first place as florists' Easter flowers. . • 



The new evergreen set are even more vigorous, but will not probably t* 

 hands of the trade before next year. Many of you may, tow^T^ 

 >w what they are like. Th,.„ R. Wichuraiana crossed with lerie « 



v. next year. Jviany 01 yuu 7-. -„ . des 



know what they are like. They are R. Wichuraiana crossed with Peru ao 

 Jardins, Meteor, American Beauty, and other forcing roses. To Mr. ™™* 

 surprise, I daresay, they retained their foliage outdoors last winter. 

 most luxuriant growers, evidently hardv. and worthy of the most 



covering plants are desired. To my mind tne 

 crosses of the Perle, Gardenceflora, with beautiful yello 



beautiful are i-« 



s. and expanded 



paoo 



ing to turee inches across, with big clusters of golden yellow stamc.» - rf 

 over beau iful masses of rich and shining green foliage ; it will tak « J^J^b. 

 if ?Jtll™?™ h ™«' Evergreen Gem is another dense gro» er^ 



lt*Zi f-eral as yet unnam 



scarcely 



Id watch 



uisiti<>r> 



these roses, for I believe they will prove to be among the most ^\^£dm 

 for a wide section of country that we have seen in recent years, and lor uj 

 of customers who desire roses for fining on walls, or covering bare ground, u*7 

 should prove of great value. 



r . , — v.— .ary 



chofen nii..,,P \i ll .P erson | °"Kht to avoid truffles. During the 

 ■ • P,a ^ n " 1 iir ^ > n l8 49, the physicians utilised decoctions and 



ret-hin^s and ZrrrL t V ? e - e even made into snuff to combat 



the cXosuion of ^ed i ^ Sh ° WS that is mULh kinshi P in 



sevenHl?^? 2 ^ _^. hr . oon * *nd truffles. The latter contain 



odoriferous principle, some volatile 



- is rich in nitrogen, and contains 



dual 



— — m ^ www 



solutions of 



pnosphorous, potash lime i 



~r- J L^Tv^!^ 1^""-!^ The percentage of these 



^ ?u Cragc w ^?cmTc p 

 * lb.), but trays of fir 



I — — w — w ^™ ™ r — - — — — r — % ■ — — — ^ m m—m 



presence in the soil is very rare. 



lb.), but timy's^fiS;^,:™" » 6fr. to 13 fr. the kilogramme 

 •*nd were sold u,;,w. 51 ^"ahtyjrurtles have fetched 20 fr. a pound, 



These are only the variety 



Parsnips.-In a large competition with these roots at the Shi^jW ^ 

 recently, Mr. R. Tye seemed t 0 P be the only exhibitor of that f^^M 

 ev.dently , very excellent one, known as Sutton". Tender an ,d True U ^ 



with flesh TH , Sh ° W th ^' ' oots were far t0 ° l0ng ' ^ to be £nd in 

 with flesh. The ideal parsnip with so many persons seems b looked 



of bone but very little marrow. In the parsnip, however, the nurro* ^ ^ 



SZtSSfo mther , than within the bone. Many roots ranged « ^ ^ ^ 



and a hall feet in length, and but about nine inches of the whole »e« ^ ^ 



Tender and True, however, is less lone and relatively much more - 

 roots staged were very han^"' °!!*Lrh and white, had shoulders 



.__ characteristic of tieTlTHolFow cW^ lad Tr " c 



grown for exhibidon. Mr. Fyfe of Tockinge Park, showed Tender 

 last year and easily took first D ^ ce with it.- A. D. 



