In message , Janet Baraclough
writes

I'm still collecting
seaweed in vast amounts, despite the recent discouraging news about it
being irradiated by Sellafield so a possible health hazard for veg
growing on the west coast of Scotland. Too late, I've already dug in
tons of it.Those little brown hoppers who live in seaweed keep coming
indoors on the dog's feet or mine, and leaping round the sitting room
carpet at night..looks like a slum infestation.

Hello Janet

Many apologies for the long delay in following up your posting. I've had
a very busy few days, and today I can take time to catch with everything
again. Thanks very much for all your good advice regarding tree
planting, etc. The three tiny potted-up larch seedlings which I thought
might be OK will now be planted out in the woodland around the house
where we're living for the time being.

Regarding "those little brown hoppers" that regularly infest your
sitting room - as they come up from the beach on the weed, do you think
that they could be relatives of prawns, shrimps or suchlike? I'm sure
that I've seen them before on the beach in *vast* numbers. Now, if they
are by any chance of good fortune related to crustacea, they might just
turn out to be edible, although I've no idea just how many of them would
be needed to make a forkful?

If you are interested, I have a small book called "Why not eat
insects?". It was written by Vincent M Holt and first published in
1885. I think that the following excerpt gives a good idea of the
book's contents. "I myself also knew a labourer , some years ago, in
the West of England, who was regularly in the habit of picking up and
eating any small white slugs which he happened to see, just as he would
have picked wild strawberries."!

I can help you with a recipe for wood louse sauce for serving with fish,
as they are probably the nearest in size to your hoppers. There are
also many suggestions for most common garden pests, caterpillars, slugs
and snails among them. If you think that the wood louse recipe would
help you to make good use of your unexpected source of protein, do let
me know and I can either email it to you directly, or post it here on
the 'urghhhh' newsgroup.


--
Susie Thompson
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