they afford excellent diversion, which is so eagerly pursued, that the liberty of fishing in some of the streams near the metropolis, is sometimes rented at 10l. per annum. In Cumberland, great numbers of trout are potted with the Charr, and sent to the London market.
The proper season of angling for trout, is in the months of June and July; when a stout rod and line baited with two lob-worms, is used for the larger kind of these fish, in a dark night; and is generally attended with success. As the usual method differs in no material respect from that of taking Carp, we refer the reader to vol. i. p. 437.
The flesh of trout affords food of a very fine flavour, and is easily digested. Those of a large size, procured from clear rapid streams, with a gravelly or stony bed, generally cut of a deep salmon colour, and are esteemed for their superior delicacy.—There is a species termed the White Trout, caught chifefly in the river Esk: the flesh of this fish, in dressing, acquires a reddish tint, and is much valued.
TROY-WEIGHT, is that mode of weighing certain commodities, in which the pound contains twelve ounces, each of them being divided into twenty penny-weights, and the latter into twenty-four grains each: on the contrary, a pound of avoirdupois consists of sixteen ounces; so that each oz. has eight drams, or drachms; each dram, three scruples; and each scruple, twenty grains.—See also Avoirdupois and Weight.
True-love. See Herb-Paris.
TRUFFLE, or Trubs, Lycoperdon tuber, L. (Tuber cibarium of Dr. Withering), is a species of puff-ball, which grows under ground, without any roots or the access of light; and attains a size of from a pea to the largest potatoe. In Britain, however, it is of a globular form, resembling that of a large plumb; and, when young, its surface is whitish; being interspersed with elevated dots, the centre of which contains a brown powder, similar to that of the common Puff-ball: as it becomes old, the colour turns black.—This species of fungus may be searched for in hilly forests, which have a sandy or dry clayey bottom, at the depth of four or five inches in the earth; though it seldom exceeds four or five oz. in weight, while those produced on the Continent, frequently weigh from eight to sixteen ounces.—It is one of the most wholesome and nutritive of the esculent fungi, and is generally discovered by means of dogs, which are taught to scent it; so that, on smelling the truffle, they bark, and scratch it up.—In Italy, it is likewise rooted up by pigs, which are either furnished with a ring around their snout; or, it is taken from them by an attendant.
Truffles are highly esteemed at the tables of the luxurious, where they are served up, either roasted in a fresh state, like potatoes; or, they are dried, sliced, and dressed as ingredients in soups and ragouts. The most delicious are internally white, and possess the odour of garlic.—They pay, on importation, a duty of 2s. 512d. per lb.
Tube-root. See Meadow-Saffron.
TULIP, or Tulipa, L. a genus of plants comprising four species, the principal of which is the Gesneriana, or Common Garden Tulip, a native of Cappadocia.—It is divided into two sorts, termed the early, or dwarf spring tulips, which blow in the beginning of spring;
