FIGHTING THE INSECTS 



that for many years after the death of the American journal 

 came regularly to the Department of Agriculture addressed as 

 follows: Monsieur le Due de Field et Foret, Washington, D. C. 

 In some way they had found out that General Le Due was the 

 head of the Department of Agriculture, and got it into their 

 heads that he was the Duke of Field and Forest. 



At the time of his death I wrote a short account of his life 

 that was published by the French Academic d'Agriculture. 



After the World War the newspapers frequently hinted at 

 the existence of an important personage who was wielding tre- 

 mendous influence in the world's affairs, although he was very 

 slightly known to the public. He was often referred to as 

 "The Man of Mystery," and his name was Sir Basil Zaharoff. 

 The English Who's Who, 1921, stated that he was a Knight of 

 the Grand Cross of the British Empire, was holder of the Grand 

 Cross of the French Legion of Honor, and was a banker of 

 Paris. He was generally said to be the man who put King 

 Constantine back on the throne of Greece, who financed a 

 couple of Greek wars and who, whenever he got a new idea, 

 visited the proper Premier and "put it across." He was further 

 said to have been born of a Russian father and a Greek mother, 

 but to have been French by nationality and English by educa- 

 tion. It was also stated that he was fabulously wealthy, owned 

 banks and theaters and half of Monte Carlo. All this and a lot 

 of other gossipy things appeared in print, but Sir Basil neither 

 replied to attacks nor noticed gossip. He remained "The Man 

 of Mystery." This fact may warrant the introduction here of 

 the following. 



In June, 1920, at a seance of the Academic des Sciences at 

 Paris, I was sitting with Paul Marchal, when Henneguey came 

 up and told Paul that Sir Basil would see him on Thursday at 



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