New YorK AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 205 
to be Cuscuta epithymum. The soil was sandy loam and the field 
sloped gently toward the east. The first examination was made 
April 16, 1906. Even at that time the circular bare areas marking 
the location of the dodder spots of the previous year were easily 
found. Naturally, attention was first directed to the plants around 
the margins of the spots.°° ‘The very first plant dug up showed live 
dodder! Further search revealed several more specimens of live 
dodder. In one case, a crown of yellow trefoil (Medicago lupulina 
L.) was covered on the under surface with a dense mat of live 
dodder threads. (See Plate XIX.) For the most part, the hiber- 
nating dodder appeared in the form of turfs of short, stout, yellow 
threads, one-fourth to one-half inch long, attached to the bases of 
the branches close down to the ground around the crown of the 
plant and especially on the undersides of branches lying close to the 
eround. (See Plate XX, figs. 2 and 3.) Yellow, haustoria-bearing 
threads tightly coiled around the very lowest parts of the stems 
were also common, but in no case has the dodder been observed on 
the root proper. 
In a more thorough examination made April 21 live dodder was 
found to be plentiful in all parts of the field. 
Field No. 2.— This field was located near Geneva. The soil was 
heavy clay. It was sown in the spring of 1904. There being only 
a few dodder spots the field has been allowed to stand. In the 
spring of 1906 live dodder was found to occur only sparingly, the 
dates of observation being April 17 and May 4. It was found on 
alfalfa, yellow trefoil and red clover. In the spring of 1907 live 
dodder was more plentiful. An examination made January 4, dur- 
ing a thaw, showed the dodder alive and apparently in good condi- 
tion. On some of the infested spots it could be plainly seen without 
stooping down. On March 18, two or three days after the snow 
had disappeared, live dodder was still abundant; also on March 28. 
Several other observations (dates unrecorded) were made during 
April and May of this year and an abundance of live dodder found 
every time. December 10, 1907, live dodder was found on dande- 
lion leaves. Further observations made during the spring of 1908 
showed that dodder had again wintered well. The dates of observa- 
In searching for live dodder in early spring it is necessary to cut off the 
alfalfa plants below the surface of the soil so that the the parts lying next the 
ground may be examined. To do this with a knife is slow, disagreeable 
work. The proper tool for the purpose is a short-handled, heavy hoe or 
light grub-hoe. 
