Page 117 HISTORY OF DECOYS.

HISTORY OF DECOYS.

Here may be seen the most successful existing Decoy in the kingdom, and the only one now worked in Lincolnshire. It was lately owned by Captain Healy (whose father, Mr. Henry Healy, constructed it), but upon his death in 1868 it was offered for sale, and was purchased by old Mr. Tacey (lately deceased), the father of Mr. George Tacey, who now owns it. The extent of the pool is about 2 acres, and it has four pipes. Captain Healy had an accurate account kept of each day's capture from its first winter in 1833-34 down to that of 1867-68, and the results, as arranged in the subjoined table, which was published in the sporting papers at the time the Decoy was offered for sale on the death of its owner, will give some notion of the immense number of fowl annually taken, as well as the proportions in which the various species are found associated together. From this it will be seen that the captures have averaged 2,741 head of wildfowl per annum, and in the course of five-and-thirty years there has not been such a decrease in numbers as from various causes might have been expected. Mr. J. Cordeaux, of Great Cotes, Ulceby, when visiting this Decoy in December, 1882, was informed by Mr. Tacey that a few years ago he had taken 6,321 Ducks and Teal, and of these .2,300 were captured in 31 days, or in just a month's time. The average take for the last dozen years in the Ashby Decoy has been nearly 3,000 fowl in a season. The largest number of fowl taken at Ashby during recent years at a single drive was 113 Wild-duck. The same day 248 Ducks were caught in all. Stonehurst, in his " Hist. and Topog. of the Isle of Axholme, 1839," states (pp. 62-70), that a covey of Partridges was once taken in a pipe here. The Decoy is well kept and managed, as is likely to be the case, for its tenant states it pays him better than the farm attached to it. Birds taken in the Ashby Decoy from 1833-34 to 1867-68:-See table on following page.