420 THE GROUSE IN HEALTH AND IN DISEASE 



sized estate alone. How far the pest is spread over the whole of Scotland I 

 don't know, but the total acreage of spoilt heather must be something very- 

 big indeed, and both the farmer and the game preserver have a very troublesome 

 enemy to cope with in LochmcBa suturalis." 



iff) " It may interest you to know what we have been doing about the 

 heather beetle — practically, they have damaged the whole moor, and we notice 

 what I think was mentioned in your pamphlet, that they steadily work eastivards. 

 We have been burning the affected heather as much as possible. At the time 

 we were burning there was a very hard frost, and as regards the ground we 

 turned up to examine we found the beetles not deep down as we expected, 

 but clustered just round the root of the heather practically on the surface, and 

 they didu't seem to be at all affected by the frost. I think it is a very serious 

 thing for the moors in these parts, and hope that some effectual remedy may 

 be found for them." 



{gg) " I am sorry to say the heather beetle is very bad with us this year. 

 It was seen on the wing first on April 5th in very large quantities. Now [August] 

 the grub can be seen in the roots of the heather. The heather which was badly 

 affected last year seems to be quite dead, and has turned white. We found in 

 burning this spring that where the heather was burned in narrow strips the 

 portions of heather left between were specially badly attacked, which looked as if 

 the fire had not killed the grub, but had driven them to the heather close by. In 

 cases where we burned one side of a knoll, we find the side left has not suffered. 

 This may be simply a coincidence, but would appear to prove that the grub can 

 move short distances to find fresh heather to attack, but cannot move more than 

 a few yards. With regard to stock of Grouse, we have never had such a poor show, 

 although some of the moors in this district have a fair average stock. I think we 

 shall have to face burning a very large amount of the dead heather next spring." 



(/i/i) "All the gamekeepers in this district obstinately maintain that the 

 mischief is due to frost, but none of them can account for the fact of its only 

 appearing in patches, and not by any means in the most exposed places." 



(n) " In the diseased heather I cannot myself locate either beetle or grub, 

 although I've seen both many a time." 



{jj) " I send you a portion of damaged heather with peat. . . . My keepers 

 here scout at the idea of beetles, and say the damage came too quickly and over 

 too great a radius, and they consider it caused by sudden thaw on frosted 

 heather and bleak east winds following." 



