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WILD RICE- 105 



LETTER XXIV. 



Canandaigiia, July, 1820. 

 SIy Dear Sir, 



I saw, for the first time, in the Seneca river at 

 Montezuma, the aquatic plant, called wild rice 

 ')r folle avoine. It grows all over the west and 

 ^^lorth — and wherever it flourishes, myriads of 

 "jtvater fowls are attracted to it, and derive their 

 :hief support and exquisite flavour from its ali- 

 mentary qualities. In the lakes and rivers adjoin- 

 ^^\ng Montezuma, thousands of wild geese and 

 •"ducks of all kinds congregate atthe proper season 

 ''Tor food, except the canvas back duck, or anis 

 "K'ulisneria of Wilson, which derives its name from 

 "'a, water plant called valisneria, on the roots of 

 ''' which it feeds, and which is a fresh water vegeta- 

 lable, that grows in some parts of the Hudson and 

 "{Delaware, and in most of the rivers that fall into 

 'JUie Chesapeake. 



Some difficulty has occurred not only about 

 lihe botanical name, but also about the botanical 

 character of the wild rice, or wild oats. This 

 confusion of nomenclature has arisen from Lin- 

 BcGus himself. In his species plantarum, he has 

 denomhialed it zizania aquatica, and in his Man- 

 tbsa, zizania paluslris — and it has been called 



