THE ANGLER AND HUNTSMAN 193 



green-winged.and blue-winged teal, buffle-head, and ruddy 

 duck are also known to feed considerably upon this plant. 



Description of Wild Rice: 



\Vild rice is a tall, round-stemmed grass with long, flat, 

 pointed leaves. The stem, which may be as much as 2 

 inches in diameter, is hollow, but is furnished with trans- 

 verse partitions between as well as at the joints. These par- 

 titions may be seen when the stem is cut lengthwise. The 

 base of the stem is in the form of a stout hook, and from it 

 arise the numerous fibrous roots which serve mainly to an- 

 chor the plant to the bottom. The flowers of wild rice usu- 

 ally appear during the latter part of July, but may be found 

 as late as November. The appearance of the flower head is 

 very characteristic; the lower branches which bear the 

 staminate or male flowers, are widely separated and stand 

 out from the stem, while the upper branches of pistillate 

 flowers are erect and more compactly grouped. The grain of 

 wild rice is from one-half to three-fourths of an inch in 

 length, slender, of uniform diameter, and with rounded or 

 pointed ends. A low rib runs along the whole length of one 

 side and a shallow groove along the other. The husk of 

 the seed has six longitudinal grooves and a long, pointed 

 beak, the whole being an inch and a half or sometimes even 

 more in length. The appearance of the flow r er head or of 

 the grain distinguishes wild rice from all other aquatic grass 

 in its range. 



Distribution of Wild Rice: 



Natural growths of wild rice occur from the northern 

 end of Lake Winnipeg eastward along the northern shores 

 of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River to X<-\\ 

 Brunswick; from the central Dakotas, western Nebraska, 

 and eastern Texas to the Atlantic coast; and as far south 

 along that coast as central Florida. The plant is somewhat 



