12 



BULLETIN 465, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



plant with a little of the rootstock attached, picked up in midsummer 

 by the writer, have rooted and grown successfully. The prime requi- 

 sites in propagating celery are the same as in the case of rice; the 

 buds, plants, or seeds must not be allowed to dry or to ferment be- 

 tween gathering and planting. The seed pods (fig. 6) ripen from 

 September to November and fall to the bottom. They are best col- 

 lected (by net or rake) on days when the water is least ruffled during 

 the latter half of October and early November. The winter buds 



Fig. 6. — Seed pods of wild celery. (Natural size.) B392M 



(fig. 8) may be collected at the same season, before the leaves have 

 disappeared, by following the latter down and digging up the root- 

 stocks and buds; or the young plants may be taken up in spring just 

 as they sprout. They should be kept moist and cool until wanted 

 for planting, as directed for wild rice. If they must be kept for some 

 time they should be put in open vessels of water in cold storage. 



Whe?*e to plant. — Wild celery grows best on muddy bottoms in 

 from 3-J- to 6| feet of fresh water, though it will grow also in sand 

 and in both deeper and shallower water. A sluggish current suits it 

 better than either stagnant or rapid water. 



How to plant. — For sowing, the pods should be broken up (in 

 water) into pieces about half an inch in length, which may be sown 

 broadcast — not too thickly, as the plant spreads rapidly by root- 



