CHAPTER III 



THE BOT- OR WARBLE-FLY {Hypoderma) 

 Apropos de bottes. — (Reynard.) 



Britain wants many materials in this war, 

 and as long as our back door is open we are 

 getting them. Petrol, rubber, zinc, copper, 

 molybdenum, vanadium, thorium, nickel, salt- 

 petre, wool, cotton, are all coming to us 

 in greater — immeasurably greater — quantities 

 than those in which they can filter through 

 neutral countries into Germany. These things 

 count. The shortage of leeches in Great Bri- 

 tain, on which I have already dwelt, is negli- 

 gible, and is entirely over-balanced by the really 

 serious shortage of sausage-skins in middle 

 Europe. I am told that our meat-salesmen 

 at Smithfield were offered an incredible 

 advance on the normal rate for these products 

 — so - very - necessary - and - under - no - cir- 

 cumstances - to - be - done - without - with - case- 

 ments — but the meat-salesmen at Smithfield 

 were patriots. In their dire extremity the Ger- 

 mans have been trying to make them of cellulose. 



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