Calling on any myriapodologists out there. Is this Scutigera coleoptrata (House #Centipede)? Photographed last night in my downstairs bathroom. I’m aware they are rare in the UK but sightings are on the rise. Body length approx. 25mm. I need #expert#identification before getting too excited (I’m already excited!). I can’t find any prior record of the #species in #Nottinghamshire. Is this a #First#Sighting? Embarassingly the photo reveals I need to dust more!
Thanks for the interest @isposdef. You are either going to love or hate my chapter on ‘Tittlebats, Garvies, and Five-fingers’! Or to translate this into North #American species, the application of #fish such as the #Menhaden and #Caplin, in their raw state, on #fields as manure. #Farmers on this side of the North #Atlantic littoral did the same. Tittlebat = stickleback (exploited in Newfoundland); Garvy = Sprat; Five-fingers = Starfish. #Fish#Agriculture#Manure
@isposdef On which note, I have amazing official fisheries stats that allow me to track how many barrels of fish were landed for manure in the Gulf of St Lawrence. Data on this side of the Atlantic is seriously lacking! I rely on anecdotal or incidental references to reconstruct an evidently universal, but currently untold, practice. To tell this story properly, I need to trace the fish from boat to field. Do you know of any sources that might help me take the story on?
@isposdef I reckon my best chance is to stay in #Canada. So anywhere around Gulf of St Lawrence, #Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia. Between 1850-1900. The Holy Grail would be a #farming#account or #diary chronicling #fish purchases and application regimes. Annual purchases would be a start!
Whilst about other things today, I came across the curious attempt by the #Manchester Corporation to dump all its #shit (OK ‘nightsoil’) in #Nottinghamshire. This was late 1892. Equally intrigued by the counter-arguments raised. Trent-side residents raised a stink obvs (before the real stink arrived) and #Trent#anglers were vocal in their support. They won the day. Concerns about #river#pollution aren’t new. The indomitable Feargal Sharkey follows solid footsteps. STOP POLLUTING OUR #RIVERS!
@losttourist I don’t want to be a corporation apologist, but they were facing some staggeringly difficult social and environmental challenges at the time. Manchester was growing exponentially and the infrastructure couldn’t cope. But your point stands. As they sought solutions they were quite happy for others to suffer.