HA RD WICKE' S SCIENCE- G OSS/P. 



39 



scription of a few of the commonest species. Analy- 

 tical tables of all the genera are out of the question : 

 but I shall insert as many as possible, and these, 

 with the plates of wings, will be found quite sufficient 

 to enable the student, after a little study, to recognise 

 all the families, and the greater number of the prin- 

 cipal genera. In the small crosses, representing the 

 natural size of wings given in the plates, allowance 

 must be made for slight variation in the size in the 

 ■tlifferent species. 



The tables are intended to apply to the British 

 genera only, and are compiled with a view to render 

 the determination of sub-families and genera as easy 

 as possible ; and they may not always be the best 

 from a strictly scientific point of view. The descrip- 

 tions are purposely abbreviated as much as possible 

 to save space. 



(To ie continued. ) 



DUCKING: A LINCOLNSHIRE SKETCH. 

 By Gregory O. Benoni. 



\_Contin-uedfrotii p. i8.] 



AX amusing sight it is to the naturalist to see the 

 bright-eyed speckled breast at his work, his 

 legs straddling wide apart with exertion, and his 

 whole being bent on the business in hand. He runs 

 his beak into the soft body of the snail, and begins to 

 hammer, rap-a-tap-tap, till it escapes from his hold. 

 Then he hops round a while in reflection, wags his 

 tail, and takes his rest with his head cocked to one 

 side, and his gaze fixed on the dainty morsel enclosed 

 in the protecting shell. When he has quite recovered 

 his breath be "goes for it " again, this time with his 

 "nib" thrust through a crack in the shell, which 

 soon flies to fragments under repeated blows, and 

 discloses the coveted treasure. 



But this is not ducking, though we are almost 

 within sight of the decoy, and the master-ducker is 

 hastening down the path to meet us, with a " God 

 bless you, squire, I'm right glad to see you and your 

 friends ; " an assertion fully in harmony with the 

 beaming expression of his weather-beaten counte- 

 nance, and the eagerness of his movements. To our 

 inquiries whether we might see the ducks taken, and 

 what kind of day might be expected, he answered 

 with a wink of extreme satisfaction, as he swung his 

 left arm towards the pond ; " First rate, squire, first 

 rate ducking-day, five thousan' i' th' 'coy if there's a 

 score, I'll awarran'." 



After a few more words relative to the splendid 

 weather we were having for what he maintained to 

 be the finest of sports — certainly it does require 

 great caution and intentness — our entertainer con- 

 ducted us through a young plantation of birch and 

 ash, bidding us speak in undertones lest the ducks 

 should hear us, and finally commanded us to observe 

 perfect silence. He then vanished into a shed, and 

 returned with a basket of hemp-seed, and some 



morsels of bread for the decoy-dog who now appeared 

 following its master. It was a dog of the ordinary 

 north of England shepherd type, half coUey and half 

 bob-tail, but worth a "fo'tin" to its owner notwith- 

 standing its unassuming exterior. 



Accompanied by this new addition to our party, 

 we soon found ourselves close to the decoy, a circular 

 sheet of water, four acres in extent, which had been 

 made by deeping the natural hollow between two 

 "hoes" or sand-hills, heaping up the soil thus 

 gained round the edge of the pool, and supplying it 

 with water from a drain connected with the Trent, 

 A pipe, or gradually narrowing canal a hundred 

 yards long runs out from the pond towards each of 

 the cardinal points, curving to the right as it recedes, 

 so that the birds on the main-water, or at the 

 entrance of the pipe itself, cannot see more than 

 half-way along its channel. Over the entire length 

 of each pipe is a semi-circular iron frame supporting 

 a net with a mesh of two inches, high in proportion 

 where the ditch is wide, and contracting by degrees 

 till it ends in a tunnel-net kept open by iron rings, 

 and removable at pleasure. On the left side of each 

 pipe runs a high fence, formed of a series of reed 

 screens, so placed that the head of one is somewhat 

 behind the end of the next, and only connected with 

 it by a low stile or dog-leap, over which the observer 

 can look straight up the pipe. 



Wild fowl are so continually on the alert, and have 

 such exquisite senses of sight and smell, that they 

 can only be approached under cover from the lee- 

 ward ; woe betide the sportsman in the open fens, 

 who believes himself to be getting within range of his 

 game after hours of wary stalking, if the wind veer 

 but a few points and blow from him to his would-be 

 quarry — in the twinkling of an eye the birds take 

 wing, and he is left to console himself with the 

 thoughts of what might have been, if his fortune had 

 proved equal to his endeavours. 



The pipes of the decoymen are purposely so 

 arranged that two can always be used at a time when 

 the wind will blow steadily from one quarter. But 

 the breeze must be constantly watched for fear that a 

 sudden change should inform the ducks of their 

 danger, and cause a sudden " rising," when mallard, 

 teal, shoveller and pintail will disappear, leaving the 

 common enemy to duckless and luckless lamentation. 



While we were still some two hundred yards away 

 our ears had become aware of unusual sounds, but 

 no\y we were within a few feet of the water, the cry, 

 quack, whistle, and cough of strange and unknown 

 birds became most exciting. Initiated by the sign 

 language of the decoymen, we placed ourselves at 

 squints, or peeping-holes, formed by thrusting short 

 sticks through the reed fence, but not before our 

 long-limbed cockney friend, whose curiosity got the 

 better of his discretion necessary on such an occasion, 

 made our worthy instructor forget himself and his 

 betters, by an attempt to look over the screen into 



