264 ALFALFA FARMING IN AMERICA. 



as one's hat, then soon it will be 2' across, and thus, 

 rapidly it spreads till there is a circle of dodder sur- 

 rounding a devastated and dead center, the circle 

 rapidly enlarging. Prevention is the best remedy, 

 and is easy enough, since by exercising care one can 

 buy alfalfa seed free from dodder. The seeds are 

 not impossible to separate from alfalfa seeds and 

 careful seedsmen do not send out badly infected 

 alfalfa seed. It may be possible, however, with the 

 best intentioned and most careful of seedsmen that 

 an occasional dodder seed will get through. There- 

 fore the grower should be on his guard and nip the 

 threatened evil in the bud as soon as it is seen. 



Eradication of dodder is easy if it is taken soon 

 enough. Remembering that as it has no root system 

 of its own it is only necessary to cut down the alfalfa 

 at this spot, cutting close to the ground, leave the 

 stuff lie where it grew and as soon as it is thoroughly 

 dry place an armful of dry straw on it and set on 

 fire. This will usually destroy the thing completely. 

 There will not be any loss worth mentioning. The 

 fire may kill a few alfalfa plants, but it is probable 

 that they will start again from their roots. Under 

 no conditions should the infected patches be raked 

 and the dodder put in with the hay. This distributes 

 seed over the farm, and besides one forgets the exact 

 location and size of the patches if they are raked. 



If through buying inferior alfalfa seed one gets 

 a field badly infested with dodder he may find it 

 best to plow it up, grow a cleaning crop for a year, 

 and then re-seed. 



