i86 



Royal Botanical Gardens, 



Glasnevin, Dublin, 



Dear Mr. Druery, March 7th, 1917. 



I fear there is nothing I can write for you as 

 to infected sources, as I have no idea from whence the 

 weevil came. Professor Carpenter concluded it was of 

 Australian origin. I can only say that it has been a most 

 destructive pest in every way. It first appeared in the 

 houses, and cleared out two-thirds of my collection of 

 ferns. I found that anything that killed the weevil killed 

 the plants. 



Cyaniding only killed any beetles that might be out and 

 about ; it did not reach the grubs in the root stocks, or the 

 beetles under the soil. From the greenhouse it spread to 

 my out-door collection, which was a particularly good one, 

 enriched from Bristol, the late Dr. Lowe, of Shire Newton, 

 Chepstow, and many other collections. I think it must 

 have got to this from soil used as top dressing, the old 

 potting soil which had been screened. The result is my 

 whole collection of hardy ferns is gone. I burnt the last 

 of it last year. Indoors I have it well in hand and am 

 almost clear, and the collection is beginning to look well 

 again. The only remedy I found was soaking the plants 

 in water, one inch above the level of the pots, and picking 

 off the beetles as they come to the surface. This I do 

 lour times yearly. From sixty to seventy at one time, I 

 only got nine last time I steeped in all the different houses. 



Yon wil. see from this that I cannot possibly state where 

 the weevil came from. I do not know where it is now 

 distributed, nor do I know if it exists outside these gardens, 

 therefore I am unable to give any warning such as you 

 suggest. 



With kind regards, 



I am, faithfully yours, 



F. W. Moore. 



