HISTORY OF DECOYS. | |
| As an instance of how soon wildfowl learn to discriminate between real danger and the reverse, I can say that I have seen the Ducks at Longueville sitting composedly on the Decoy, within sight and sound of carts and waggons passing along the adjacent road, a distance of but 100 paces, and though the drivers of such vehicles can see the fowl, and mischievously crack their whips to alarm them, their efforts to rise the birds prove futile. Doneraile Court-The residence of Viscount Doneraile, close to the town of Doneraile, and 6 miles N E. of Mallow. There are the remains of a first-class Decoy here, though no records exist of its being put ever to active use. It was constructed by the second Viscount Doneraile, grandfather of the present owner of the estate, and much costly masonry was used in its construction, some of which is yet to be seen. The outline of the Decoy can still be traced, and I have been able on a close inspection to determine the position of the four pipes. The remains of the Decoyman's hut are also visible, together with the channels cut for flooding the pool from the River Aubeg, that flows close by its side. The Decoy is placed in a dense thicket in the park, and Some 400 yards distant from the mansion. The park at Doneraile abounds in wild scenery and magnificent timber; indeed, Lord Doneraile once told me that it used to be his boast, that some years ago he could point out, in his beautiful grounds, specimens of all well-known British trees, as well as many rare ones, that, taken collectively, could not, he was ready, to be surpassed in size and symmetry of form and foliage, on any other estate. | |
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COUNTY DOWN. | |
Decoys in use. None. | Decoys not in use. Lough Beg. |