30 MORE MINOR HORRORS 



kept alight the lamp of economic entomology 

 in England, published some statistics on this 

 subject towards the end of the last century. In 

 1888, out of slightly over 100,000 hides dealt 

 with in the Newcastle cattle and skin market, 

 60,000 were ' warbled,' and the loss to the 

 trade amounted to £15,000. The same year 

 at Nottingham 8500 out of 35,000 hides were 

 largely spoiled ; at Manchester 83,500 out of 

 250,000 suffered from the same cause: the 

 losses in these towns being estimated for 

 the year in question at about £2000 and 

 £17,000 respectively. Taking the average 

 from all sources in England, Miss Ormerod 

 estimated the fall in value at from 5s. to 6s. 

 on every warbled hide. The most riddled 

 hides — that is, those with the most punctures — 

 come to the sale-room during April and May, 

 but the trouble extends from February to 

 September. 



There is also the loss caused by the warble 

 to the butcher — and through the butcher 

 to the Army Service Corps. The presence 

 of the fly-larva, which is quite a large crea- 

 ture, induces chronic inflammation in the 

 tissues, and a state of things known to the 

 trade as 'licked beef,' and unless the meat- 

 salesman cuts away the affected parts the 

 meat is unsaleable in the market, or greatly 

 depreciated in value. The average loss to 



