irr.l'ORT OF THE BOTANIST 265 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



It is certain that there are many places along our lakes and slower rivers which 

 are perfectly suited for the growing of wild rice. All that is required is that the seed 

 should be once sown, when the crop would in future take care of itself. There is 

 one shore of this kind, on the Experimental Farm, .which now supports a dense growth 

 of this and other aquatic plants. Formerly, wild rice had not been a part of as vege- 

 tation, but the late Dr. Fletcher, a lev/ years ago, scattered a quantity of the seed here, 

 with the result that the plant was soon well established. Similar results should be 

 possible in other places, and yet it is a fact that comparatively few attempts to intro- 

 duce it are attended with success. The failures may be due to various causes, but 

 probably most of them could be referred to the unsuitable nature of the spots chosen, 

 (" to worthless seed. 



Wild rice, like every other plant, has its own special requirements, which must be 

 provided if it is to thrive and before we attempt its propagation, we must take the 

 pains to learn what its habits and requirements are. 



The wild rice plant is a member of the large family of grasses to which belong all 

 our cereal grains, corn, and most of the forage plants, other than the clovers. It 

 differs from the foregoing from the farmer's point of view, chiefly in being aquatic, 

 and therefore subject to few of the same cultural methods. Botanieally, it is known 

 as Zizania aquatica, L.. and is characterized by its annual habit, the monoecious form 

 of its inflorescence, etc. It is a tall stout grass with stems that are hollow, and divided 

 into compartments by numerous transverse walls. The leaves are long and relatively 

 broad, and are peculiar in having the midrib slightly to one side of the centre. The 

 plants start from the seed in the spring, and by the end of July the large open panicles 

 are fully developed. The lower, broader portion is the staminate, or pollen-producir.g 

 area, while the upper portion bears the pistillate flowers, and later the grain. This 

 arrangement provides admirably for cross-fertilization, since the pistillate flowers 

 emerge first from the sheath, and receive pollen from other plants before their own is 

 ready. After fertilization, the seed develops rapidly, ripening and dropping^Jn a few 

 weeks' time. The seed is about two-thirds of an inch in length, slender, and bearing 

 awns often two inches in length. Its habit, just mentioned, of dropping immediately 

 upon becoming fully ripe, and lying beneath the water until germination takes place 

 the following spring, gives us probably our most important hint for the proper care 

 of seed which is to be sown elsewhere. 



As pointed out elsewhere, one of the principal difficulties in starting new wild rice 

 fields, has been the securing of germinable seed. In order to overcome this difficulty, 

 the United States Department of Agriculture has for some years had investigations 

 under way. which have thrown much light on the subject. It has been made clear 

 that wild rice seed which has once been allowed to become dry, will seldom germinate. 

 Either it must be sown very shortly after it becomes ripe, or it must be stored under 

 conditions which will as nearly as possible duplicate those of nature. The former 

 method has the disadvantage of exposing the seed over winter to the risk of being 

 washed away by floods to an unfavourable depth of water, of getting covered too deeply 

 with mud, or of being eaten by wild ducks, etc. The endeavour has been, therefore, 

 to learn how to store the seed from the time it is gathered until the time for sowing 

 :n the spring. 



The conclusion reached by the United States Department's experimenters is that, 

 wild-rice seed can best be stored by keeping it during the whole of this period in water 

 in cold storage. A temperature of 32° to o4° Fahr. appears to have I een the most 

 satisfactory- Seed kept at a temperature of 12° Fahr. and consequently imbedded in 

 ice, was completely destroyed. If cold storage is not available, fairly good results may 

 be had by changing the water in the storage vessels daily until the weather becomes 

 cold. The seed should be got into storage with the least possible delay after it is 

 gathered, and without allowing it to 'heat' or ferment, and drying out must be 

 specially guarded against in the spring when transporting it to the place where it is 

 to be sown. 



