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349
The Journal of a Disappointed Man
·
W. N. P. Barbellion
257
April
6.
The
Housefly
Problem--1916
For
weeks
past
we
have
all
been
in
a
terrible
flutter
scarcely
paralleled
by
the
outbreak
of
Armageddon
in
August,
1914.
The
spark
which
fired
almost
the
whole
building
was
a
letter
to
the
Times
written
by
Dr.
----,
making
public
an
ignominious
confession
of
ignorance
on
the
part
of
Entomologists
as
to
how
the
Housefly
passed
the
winter.
In
reply,
many
correspondents
wrote
to
say
they
hibernated,
and
one
man
was
even
so
temerarious
as
to
quote
to
us
Entomologists
the
exact
Latin
name
of
the
Housefly:
viz.,
Musca
domestica.
We
asked
for
specimens
and
enormous
numbers
of
flies
at
once
began
to
arrive
at
the
Museum,
alive
and
dead--and
not
a
Housefly
among
them!
So
there
was
a
terrible
howdedo.
One
of
the
correspondents
was
named
"Masefield."
"Not
Masefield
the
poet?"
an
excited
dipterist
asked.
I
reassured
him.
"I've
a
good
mind,"
said
Dr.
----,
"to
reply
to
this
chap
who's
so
emphatic
and
give
him
a
whigging--only
he's
climbing
down
a
bit
in
this
second
letter
in
to-day's
issue."
I
strongly
advocated
clemency.
But
still
the
affair
goes
on.
Every
morning
sees
more
letters
and
more
flies
sent
by
all
sorts
of
persons--we
seem
to
have
set
the
whole
world
searching
for
Houseflies--Duchesses,
signalmen,
farmers,
footmen.
Every
morning
each
fresh
batch
of
flies
is
mounted
on
pins
by
experts
in
the
Setting
Room,
and
an
Assistant's
whole
time
is
devoted
to
identifying,
arranging,
listing
and
reporting
upon
the
new
arrivals.
At
the
last
meeting
of
the
Trustees
a
sample
collection
was
displayed
to
show
indubitably
that
the
insects
which
hibernate
in
houses
are
not
Musca
domestica
but
Pollenia
rudis.
I
understand
the
Trustees
were
appreciative.
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