Page 8 THE BOOK OF DUCK DECOYS.

THE BOOK OF DUCK DECOYS.

    Maxwell in 1830 is as good as any, and being an energetic sportsman and favoured writer, no doubt had means of personally inspecting a Decoy.     In the " London Encyclopćdia," 1839, is a short but accurate notice of a Decoy, and how it is worked.
    Some other references to Decoys are as follows: "England Illustrated" (R. & J. Dodsley, London, 1764). " Itinerarium Curiosum" excellent account of a Decoy, together with an accurate plan of a five-pipe Decoy almost exactly similar to one given herein. " Bradley on Gardening" (1726). "A Natural History " (John Bigland, 1806).
    In more modern times came Lubbock with his charming account of the "Fauna of Norfolk" (1845). He described a Decoy as he knew it and saw it, the one that belonged to his friend Mr. Kerrison at Ranworth Broad. He simply gave the result of his own observations and borrowed from nobody. Next we have Folkard, who, devoting several pages to the subject in his "Wildfowler" (first edition, 1859), epitomised and criticised many previous writers about Decoys, collected information as to their history and construction, and faithfully described them in a general way from his personal acquaintance therewith.
    Then we have Mr Thomas Southwcll of Norwich, who contributed to "The Transactions of the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society in 1881 an excellent paper on the Decoys of his own county. He took great pains to gain particulars of the Norfolk Decoys, and I am much indebted to him for the privilege of using the results of his researches in Norfolk, as well as for his interesting notes of the "Skelton Family."
    Next, in 1883, Mr C. Davies published a work on the "Norfolk Rivers and Broads," with some excellent sketches of the Decoy pipes at Fritton Lake, reproduced in "Peter Penniless," by the same author (1884).
    In "Yarrell's British Birds" (fourth edition, '885) is a faithful though brief description of a Decoy, furnished by the Rev. Richard Lubbock, author of the "Fauna of Norfolk," for the first edition of the "History of British Birds."
    As I have said, many other references to Decoys exist in various works which I have not quoted, but they are one and all either too absurd or too meagre to deserve mention.*

* A long and curiously ridiculous plan and description of a Decoy occurs in "London's Encycopaedia of Agriculture," 5th edition, 1844, page 1,092; and one which is partially "A Dictionary of Science and Art," by Brande and Cox (1865).