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. Tlie 
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. 
