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The truffle (Tuber cibarium, common truffle, Sibthorp, fig. 98; and Tuber albidum, white truffle, Ca>8.) belongs to the same class and order
January. From the Comte's practice little practical information con be drawn, further than that truffles were planted in a situation and in a medium favourable for tho seed which was contained in the planted tubers vegetating at its natural season- a circumstance we think more simply accomplished, and with probably as much success, by the peasant truffle-hunter in our own country, who doposits again in the soil all very small and decaying truffles, unfit for market, in the spot from whence he dug them, or transplants them to situations where none grew before, choosing, however, a similar soil, and in general under shadow of a tree of the same species under which they ore usually found. The oak and the beech appear to be the most favourable for the purpose. This would lead us to conclude that the truffle prefers a rather dry locality. Bradley's recommendation is, " that the truffle may be easily cultivated where there are woods or coppices of oak or hazel, and where the soil is not too stiff, or inclining to chalk. The soil where they are most found is a reddish sandy loam ; this, then, will be the best for our purpose, especially if it has lain long uncultivated. The soil should remain undisturbed till the months of October, November, or December, which is the proper season for planting, if the weather be open, for then the truffles are to be found in their full ripening; and then, likewise, one may find them in a state of putrefaction, which is the time when the seeds are prepared for vegetation. It is in tho last state that we ought to gather truffles for planting, or at least they should be in perfect riponess." Ho proceeds to plant as follows: " Open a spot of ground, of a convenient space, and take out the earth about 8 inches deep, and screen it, that it may be as fine as possible ; then lay about 2 or 3 inches thick of this fine earth at the bottom of the trench, and upon it lay some of the overripe truffles, about a foot and a half distance from one another ; and as soon as possible propare a thin mud, made of tho screened earth and water, well stirred and mixed together, and pour it on the truffles till the open ground is quito filled up. By this means, in a few hours, the ground will be as closely settled about the truffles as if it had never been dug or disturbed at all, and you may expect a good crop in due time. You must, however, take care to choose your spots of ground in woods or coppices, or such places as are shaded with trees." As regards information on the culture of the truffle, we are in much the same state as were our forefathers ages ago, when it was gravely recommended to them by some of our earliest authorities, to collect the young mushrooms wherever they were found growing naturally, and, on taking them up, to transplant them on dungbeds in their gardens; or, as others recommended, to take full-grown mushrooms, and break them down in water, and water the beds with the infusion. To succeed in tho culture of the morel or truffle, we should assuredly follow the course practised with the common mushroom, namely, secure and increase a supply of seed, preserve it in shape of spawn, and transplant it, in that state, into prepared beds, as nearly as possible resembling that in which they are found to exist naturally. Succeeding in this, more artificial means might successfully be adopted afterwards.
Little has been written on the cultivation of this valuable fungus in Britain. We believe the only works in English that treat on truffle culture are the translations, by Mr Francis Mascoll, of M. Alex, de Bornholz's " Treatise on the Cultivation of Truffles," and that of Von V. F. Fisher, entitled " Instructions in Truffle-hunting." The essence of both will be found in the 13th volume of the " Gardeners' Magazine," p. 389-408, and is well worth the perusal of the English reader. The observations of Bradley, quoted above, will be found in his " Physical Observations on Gardening." No less than eleven treatises on this curious subject have appeared in France and Germany, the best of which is the article Truffle, by Drs Lippold and Funke, in " Lexicon of Nature and Art," part 3, and the splendid " History and Monograph of Truffles," by Dr TulaBno, Paris, 1851 ; and the plans proposed for their cultivation by Von Justi and Bulliard are worth consulting. They all agree that a soil should be chosen for the artificial cultivation of this fungi, as similar as possible to that in which truffles grow naturally; that it should be trenched to the depth of 2 or 3 feet; and that either pieces of the earth in which truffles grow naturally, or single truffles, fully grown, should be planted in it Dr Klotzsch of Berlin recommends taking such truffles as are over-ripe, and nearly in a state of decomposition, breaking them in pieces, and placing them 2 or 3 inches deep in the soil, " in rather raised flat places," under coppices or underwood, and in a sheltered situation. No one appears to have tried its cultivation in a regular mushroom-house, although it at once presents many of the apparent essentials sought for by these authorities, under the Bhade of trees, coppiceB, &c.; and we doubt not if those who live in the localities where they naturally abound were to collect the truffles when beginning to decay, at which time their seeds are fully matured, and to transfer them to a bed of earth composed of material similar to that in which they naturally grow, abundance of truffle-spawn would be secured, and might be multiplied as readily as that of the common mushroom: or why not collect the truffle-spawn, and transfer it to artificial beds, as is often done in the case of the mushroom ? The truffle being little known to cultivators generally, the following description by Mascall, in addition to our fig. 98, may enable them to detect it with certainty : " Of a round form, more or less approaching to that of a sphere, or of an egg, or sometimes kidney-shaped (for they assume all these forms), and somewhat rough with protuberances. The colour of the surface is, when it is young, whitish, but in those that are fullgrown it is either blackish or a deep black. The colour of tho inside is whitish, with darkblue and white, grey, reddish, light-brown, or dark-brown veins, of the thickness of a horsehair, which are usually variously entangled, and which form a kind of network or mat. Between the veins are numerous cavities, filled with a great deal of mucilage and small solid grains. These scarcely visible glands were formerly said to be the seeds or germs of the young truffles. The less the inside of the truffle is coloured with dark veins, the more tender and delicious is its flesh. The blackish external rind is hard and very rough, by means of fine fissurcB, grains, and protuberances, and forms, with its small facets, which are almost hexagonal, an appearance by which it somewhat resembles the firapples of the larch. Whilst the truffle is young, its smell resembles that of putrid plants, or of moist vegetable earth. When it first approaches the point of time at which it has attained its full growth, it diffuses an agreeable smell, which is peculiar to it, resembling that of musk, which lasts only a few days: it then becomes stronger, and the nearer the fungus is to its dissolution, which speedily ensues, so much the more unpleasant and urinous is the smell, till at last it is quite disagreeable and putrid. Whilst young, tho flesh is watory, and its taste insipid : when fully formed, its firm flesh, which is like the kernel of the almond and the nut, has an extremely aromatic and delicious taste; but as soon as the fungus begins to decay, and worms and putrescence to attack it, its taste is bitter and disagreeable."
Wherever truffles are produced, they are to be found the whole year through, from the beginning of spring till late in autumn, but in the greatest plenty from towards the end of the month of August to the latter end of October. They thrive extremely, like all fungi, in warm moist autumns, and are then most delicious. After warm continuous showers, they are found nearer the surface of the soil, sometimes so high that they form little hemispherical mounds of earth, in which small clefts are produced by the sun's rays. If the soil is loose, and dry weather succeeds, the earth which was raised up falls down, and the truffle is seen half uncovered.
The favourite habitat of truffles is a somewhat moist, light, wood soil, which is defended from the immediate effect of the burning rays of the sun by large oak trees standing at a distance from each other, but is not deprived, by thick bushes, of the free access of the currents of air. Where, in woods, there are places bare of timber trees, and with but few bushes, or covered with pollard wood that does not stand thick, they thrive under an oak, beech,, white thorn, and even under a fruit tree, and sometimes attain the weight of from a pound to a pound and a half. This unusual size, however, is only met with in moist warm grounds; here they lie nearer the Burfaco of the soil. The drier the soil is, the deeper they are produced in it, but are usually so much the smaller: to this the vicinity of springs is the sole exception.
Truffles vary very much in size, form, and degree of roughness on the surface. Of all varieties those of a whitish colour arc most highly prissed, and hence the Piedmonteso is the most in esteem. Truffles, being destitute of roots, draw their nourishment from the soil by absorbent vessels which cover their whole surface, and these vessels are in general in the form of small warts; and therefore the soil which surrounds them should be kept in a uniform degree of moisture, for, if deprived of this, they soon wither away. On the other hand, if subjected to too great a degree of humidity, mould and other parasitic plants establish themselves on the surface of the tubers, and by degrees obstruct the absorbing vessels, causing putrefaction to onsue, and its concomitant attendants, insects, which prey upon tho tubers, and ultimately destroy them altogether. The first embryo of the truffle is exceedingly small and tender, as is the case with all fungi; and at that stage it is susceptible of injury, both from excess of drought and moisture. Their form is regulated much by the openness or looseness of tho soil around them, and hence the necessity of the preparations by deep-trenching and sifting, as above alluded to. " If the soil is everywhere equally loose, tho truffle assumes a globular form; but this is changed if there is on one side a greater opposition than on the other: hence the different forms of the tuber may be explained." As a rule in regard to their artificial cultivation, in connection with the state of the beds, wo may, in quoting from tho translation of Alex, von Bornholz's treatise, observe, " Where tho soil is most moist, whether above or below the truffle, there it will either rise up or sink deeper. The degree of power of attraction of the moisture in the earth to that in the truffle, necessitates such a change of place. In moist summers and in wet winters we find the truffles near the surface, even projecting above it. In dry summers, upon poor dry places in woods, they have often to be dug from a depth of more than half a foot Here is imposed upon them a greater pressure of superincumbent soil. If the earth is not very light, they cannot bo fully developed, and therefore remain small. The largest are, consequently, in general, found not deep under the earth, and in shaded light soil—that is, somewhat moist; they are not, however, so well tasted as those of middling size. Vegetable mould from oak leaves and decayed oak appears to contribute to the production and growth of truffles, as advantageously as the dung of horses does to that of mushrooms. In the one case, a peculiar animal matter produces the effect; in the other, a peculiar vegetable matter. Perhaps the tannin, or some other yet undiscovered product of tho oak tree, may be the principal causa The more of this matter any species of tree contains, with the greater facility are truffles produced in its vicinity, and in greater numbers." In the formation of truffle beds, it would appear that they should be of considerable depth, say from 18 inches to 3 feet; the soil finely sifted, and composed of vegetable mould of oak-tree leaves, decayed oak sawdust, or probably half-decayed tanners' bark, as each contains traces of the tannin principle Calcareous or ferruginous earth should be also employed; and the temperature, shade, and darkness of an ordinary mushroom-house form the fitting situation. In
regard to soil, Bornholz observes, that the greatest number of truffles, and the finest, are found in a light ferruginous calcareous soil. Such a one must, therefore, also be given to tho plantations or beds. The soil is found naturally only in particular situations, for which reason truffles do not grow everywhere. The spawn of truffles appears to be extremely delicate, and almost incapable, at least in its natural state, of being transported to any great distance; but this might be overcome, if those in whose vicinity truffles abound were to collect it and form it into spawn-bricks like that of mushrooms. Bornholz, in his treatise, confines himself entirely to their cultivation in woods and forests; all, therefore, that we can glean from his curious production is the medium suitable to the production and growth of this fungus in little other than a natural state.
From the review of Dr Tulasne's " History and Monograph of Truffles," in the " Gardeners Chronicle," 1852, p. 519, we learn that truffles and allied fungi are widely distributed over the globe. Some extend as far north as Upsal, while others are found to occur in Australia. " The black esculent truffles are by nature gregarious: they are found every year in the same spots. They occur exclusively in calcareous or calcareous and argillaceous soils, both on plains and declivities, and generally on ground more or less shaded by trees, but, as it appears, never on ground planted exclusively with conifers. Much has been written on the cultivation of truffles ; but, at present, experiments made in confirmation of published statements have not been attended with success. The only fact which is certain is, that their production can easily be effected in certain calcareous soils, even where they may not have been observed before. The plan consists simply in sowing acorns on the soil, and when tho oaks have attained the ago of ten or twelve years, truffles begin to appear. The extensive truffle layers of Loudon at Vienna were actually produced in this manner. They consisted a few years since of naked uncultivated plains, where truffles were unknown. The plantations must not be too thick. They are cut down for the first time when they are about twelve years' growth, and then at intervals of from seven to nine years. They continue fertile for about twenty-fivo or thirty years, when at length scarcely any truffles are produced. From the facility with which the mycelium, or spawn, is developed in specimens which have been brought from a distance, Dr Tulasne conceives that it might not be impossible to transplant the more valuable species into truffle layers where the more common sorts only occur. Their presence appears in general to depend more on the mineralogical character of the soil than on particular temperature, limestone districts being certainly most favourable to their growth."
Tho European names aro—Truffel in German; Tartufo nero in Italian; Truffe in French; and Aardnoot in Dutch.
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Perhaps a bit dry or strenuous on the brain, some of these 19th century texts are. Still, they do help ground our understanding and improve appreciation of the truffle.
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