Page:Foods and their adulteration; origin, manufacture, and composition of food products; description of common adulterations, food standards, and national food laws and regulations (IA foodstheiradulte02wile).pdf/494

 afterward warm. In order to find the flies the husbandman stoops down near the surface of the soil and looks horizontally over it. The colonies of flies are thus easily distinguished, and below each one of these colonies the truffles are found. This is also an ineffective method because only the over-*ripened tubercles attract the flies while those in their very prime are not thus marked.

Harvesting with Hogs.—The utilization of hogs for harvesting purposes is by far the best and most economical method. It is employed especially in Périgord and Midi. The harvesting can be either in the morning or afternoon. The hogs which are used for harvesting should be previously well fed in order to prevent them from eating the truffles which they dig out of the ground. Each animal is led with a rope. As soon as the hog gets the scent of truffles it pounces upon them and rapidly uncovers them with its snout. When the weather is favorable a hog can easily smell a truffle at a distance of 150 feet. As soon as the animal has brought the truffle to the surface instead of allowing him to eat it he should be recompensed by giving him some suitable food such as maize. If this little attention is neglected the animal soon becomes discouraged and refuses to work any longer. Before leaving the spot the hog assures himself that no other truffles are contained in that neighborhood. When the hog becomes very tired he walks very slowly and with his mouth open. It is then necessary to give him a period of rest before continuing the harvest. If the search for truffles does not bring good results the animal becomes morose, indolent, and refuses to obey. Sometimes when the hog is hungry and wants to eat the truffles it is necessary to give him a smart blow on the snout with a stick. A special race of hogs is used in this harvesting whose parents have also possessed the skill, and thus it becomes hereditary. A good hog is able to engage in the harvesting from the age of two to 25 years but they do their best work at three or four years. A single animal may be able to harvest from six to 40 pounds of truffles per day, according to their abundance in the soil. This class of hogs have a very high value, and are often sold in the south of France for this sole purpose at from $30.00 to $70.00 per head.

Harvesting with the Dog.—The dog is also employed in regions where truffles are produced, and especially in those regions where the yield is not so great and where the area to be gone over is very large. The dog is used especially in the Dauphiné, Champagne, Bourgogne, Provence, and Languedoc, and also in the neighborhood of Paris. These dogs are trained, as in the case of hogs, especially for this purpose and should be rewarded when a find is made, in the same manner as the hog. This recognition of their services should never be forgotten if animals of the greatest skill are to be secured. The dog, as is the case with the hog, locates the truffles by the scent and digs with his four paws until the truffles are laid bare,—the husbandman