354 Cooke and Schively on Observations on the 
at Eagle’s Mere, also along the Rancocas Creek in New 
Jersey. 
All early stages of Epiphegus were obtained more suc- 
cessfully in Woodlands Cemetery than elsewhere; possibly 
because the soil was loose in texture and there were coin- 
paratively few roots of plants other than the beech. 
In the middle of June, the plants are found as minute 
white tubercles attached below to a slender rootlet of the 
beech-tree. They are quite smooth and spherical, and are as 
yet entirely lacking in any external differentiation. At this 
time they are from one-sixteenth inch to one-quarter inch 
in diameter. 
In July they are found to be considerably enlarged and 
developed. They consist of a short, stout tuber-like struc- 
ture, about an inch in length. It tapers smoothly above, and 
on its broadened basal portion gives off a number of short 
stiff curving roots, which are unbranched as yet. Above 
these roots, numerous overlapping scale-leaves cover the 
surface of the tuber. In the axils of the upper leaves appear 
the young developing flowers. 
During the next few weeks a remarkably rapid growth 
occurs, so that in August the plant may be found in a fairly 
mature state. It may reach a height of eighteen inches, 
though it usually ranges from about six to twelve inches in 
length. In the mature plant, the stem is differentiated into 
two distinct regions—the tuber and the aerial stem. The 
tuber is the enlarged underground structure; it appears to be 
a central organ for the entire plant in its physiological activi- 
ties as well as in its structural relations. It is through this 
tuber that the parasitic connection with the beech root is 
maintained. On its lower surface the tuber gives off the 
numerous short stiff branching roots. These roots do not 
extend far in any direction, but bend and turn about within 
a comparatively short radius. They branch freely, often a 
single root will branch three or four times. They are very 
stiff and rigid in texture. Scattered over the upper surface 
