WCP835

[1]

Broadstone, Wimborne

Jan[uar]^y 31st 1907

C.A. Waterhouse Esq.¹

Dear Mr. Waterhouse

On reading over Dr. Spruce's² letter to Kew, (which I am now preparing for publication) I find that he sent to Sam[ue]l Stevens³, 3 small lots of Beetles, collected at Tarapoto, Peru (in 1856) — at Pacayacu. R.⁴ Bombonasa Ecuador (in 1856) and at Baños Ecuador (in 1857).

As I have no doubt they were first taken to the Museum (as was S. Steven's practice) and that you had a set or selection of them, I should be very much obliged [2] if you could look up the record of what was purchased for the Museum and give me, roughly, the number of species & the proportion of new ones; and also whether since that time you have had any or many collections from those localities.

I wish to be able to give a short account of these collections in a foot-note, — and also to obtain some knowledge of the districts entomologically, because my young friend Birch, who is now just starting for Minas-Gerais⁵, for the [3] Tring people, will probably after a year or two there, go up the Amazon to Tarapoto, or the Ucayali.

He ^(spruce) also sent some Land and fresh water shells from Tarapoto & other localities in the Andes. Will you kindly ask Mr. Edgar Smith, to send me a note as to those, and if he thinks the region of the Huallaga⁶ and Ucayali are still worth collecting in.

Yours very truly | Alfred R. Wallace [signature]

[4]

1 Beetle, megasoma actaeon⁷ deformed from Tarapoto

C.W. [signature]

Sent Smith's note 11/2/07 CW [signature]