EXPERIMENT STATION REPORT. 451 



the distress did not force any of the seeds to develop into the albino 

 form, or, at least, the percentage of white seedlings was not increased. 



Aside from the color, there is very little difference between the 

 albinos and the normals when grown in the dark. They all are 

 very long between joints, and soon fall to the ground. In vigor of 

 growth, and in all other respects excepting color, there seems to be 

 no difference between the albinos and the normal plants. In the 

 light it is not so easy to come to this conclusion, for a young corn- 

 plant soon puts on its working green color and begins the process of 

 synthesis ; but, from a large number of observations, it may be said, 

 in general, that up to the end of two weeks there is very little dift'er- 

 ence in the size of the white and green plants from the same ear. 

 After that time the green plants rapidly take the lead, and the lagging 

 albinos have ceased growing at the end of four weeks. These 

 white plants offer an opportunity for the study of several problems 

 in plant nutrition, in connection with the seed and its accumulated 

 substance. 



It would seem that the treatment of the seed during germination 

 has no effect to produce albinos. 



A test of thousands of grains of many kinds of corn have resulted 

 in no albinos, excepting in one lot of 1,000 grains of a pop-corn, re- 

 markable for its rapid germination and vigor when one true albino 

 appeared. 



Tests have been made with the yellow grains on white ears and the 

 yellow grains of yellow ears of field corn, and the same way with 

 pop-corn, but as yet the albino has not appeared among them. 



The cause may lie in the crossing that had been produced in 1899, 

 namely, between two very distinct varieties ; one an eight-rowed, 

 black sort, and the other a ten twelve-rowed, white variety. Ears 

 were then produced having a goodly number of the dark-purple or 

 pink grains. It was these colored grains that were selected for the 

 planting from which the albinos have been obtained. 



No albinos are found in tests of the parent stock of "Black 

 Mexican ' ' and ' ' Egyptian. ' ' 



A STUDY OF DODDERS. 



During the past winter the new greenhouse offered an opportunity 

 for a study of that group of pestiferous plants known as the dodders, 

 several of whichare particularly destructive to crops, as that upon 

 'the clover, flax and allied plants. 



