2 heads celery

1 pint water

2 tablespoonfuls butter

2 tablespoonfuls flour

1 slice onion

1 quart milk

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoonful salt

1 saltspoonful pepper

Remove the outside stalks or the green portion of the celery, saving the tender portion for eating raw. Wash and chop the green stalks; put them in the kettle; add the water; cook slowly thirty minutes and press through a colander. Put the milk in a double boiler; add the butter and flour, rubbed together; add the onion and bay leaf; stir constantly until creamy. Add the celery pulp, salt and pepper; cover, and let the water in the under boiler boil for ten minutes. Strain into the tureen and serve at once.