THE GAME BREEDER 



141 



a stout, one-leaved stalk from 4 to 15 

 feet in height, rising from a large tuber- 

 like root, and the stems are usually clus- 

 tered (Fig. 5). The leaf is much like 

 that of canna, is stalked, and may meas- 

 ure 5 inches wide and 15 inches long. 



Fig. 6 — Seeds of Thalia. 



The top of the stalk divides and subdi- 

 vides into a large fruiting head which 

 may bear from 200 to 300 seeds. The 

 ultimate branches of the fruiting head 

 are strongly zigzag. The flowers and 

 seeds are borne, in husks, each of which 

 is formed by two purplish bracts, one 

 much larger than the other. The oblong 

 seeds (Fig. 6) are plump and vary in 

 length up to three-eighths of an inch. 



Fig. 7 — Leaves and fruit of water elm. 



They have thin, closely fitting individ- 

 ual husks, are slightly curved, and bear 

 numerous longitudinal rows of small ir- 

 regular elevations which are lighter in 

 color than the rest of the surface. 



Distribution. 



Thalia divaricata is native from Flor- 

 ida to southern Arkansas and Texas and 

 southward into Mexico, and doubtless 

 it will thrive as far north as South Caro- 

 lina and Missouri. Two other species 

 (T. dealbata and T. barbata) occur in 

 the region from South Carolina and Mis- 

 souri south to Florida and Texas. Their 

 value as duck food is unknown. 

 Propagation. 



Thalia can be propagated from either 

 seeds or rootstocks. The seeds have a 

 thick shell and the rootstocks are mas- 



Fig. 8 — Seedlingrs of water elm. 



sive, so that neither should be injured 

 if transported with ordinary precautions. 

 Thalia occurs in greatest abundance in 

 muddy sloughs, but it will grow in open 

 water from 2 to 3 feet deep. If planted 

 directly into open water, rootstocks 

 should be used. Seeds should either be 

 placed in shallow water or sprouted in a 

 protected place and the young plants set 

 out after they have attained some size. 

 Water Elm. 

 Value as Duck Food. 



That trees should produce food for 

 wild ducks is at first thought surprising 

 but many do, as oaks, thorns, hollies, 

 ashes, hackberries, and others; none is 

 of more value for this purpose, how- 

 ever, than the water elm. 



The most common. wild duck in cen- 

 tral Louisiana is the mallard ; in fact 

 it outnumbers all other species combined. 



