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. 
^Vheve to plant. — Wild celery grows best on muddy bottoms in 
from 3J to 6J 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- 
