96 THE BOOK OF DUCK DECOYS. 



Decoys in the County of Huntingdon. 



Decoys in use. Decoys not in nse. 



None. I Holme Fen. 



The fens and meres of Huntingdon before they were reclaimed lay 

 in the NE. of the county, chiefly between Ramsey and Peterborough. The 

 larger meres consisted of WJiittlesey (3,000 acres) and Ramsey {\ ,^^00 acres), 

 and the smaller, of those known as Ugg Mere and Trundle Mere, as well 

 as other still smaller ones. The fens in partial cultivation surrounded 

 these meres in all directions for many miles, and the principal of them were 

 Farcctt Fen, north of Whittlesey Mere, Holme Fen on its south side, 

 Stilton Fen on its west side, and Middle Moor or Fen on its SE. shore. 

 South of Holme Fen was the vast tract of swamp known as The Great Fen. 



From Earith, near the river Oiise, to Ramsey Mere, the fens covered 

 the entire country, extending a distance of 1 1 miles uninterruptedly. 



These fens and meres comprised an area of 44,000 acres, and the 

 latter were finally drained and cultivated in 1852. 



As far as I can discover, no Decoys existed in Huntingdonshire 

 save that known as Holme Fen Decoy, near Whittlesey Mere. The 

 fens of this county were so frequently flooded that they were not adapted 

 for Decoys, and the difficulty of growing trees or shrubs on such wet land 

 also militated against their formation. 



"•& 



Holme Decoy, between Ramsey and Peterborough, in Holme Fen, 2\ 

 miles E. of Holme, 6 miles S. of Peterborough, and a mile from the south 

 shore of Whittlesey Mere, before the latter was drained. 



A Decoy was constructed here in the year 1815 by Richard Skelton, 

 son of old George Skelton, who stated to my correspondent, F. Coles, now 

 occupying a farm in Holme Fen, that for the first three or four years the 

 Decoy was drowned by the floods, and he caught no ducks. In the following 

 year he took 200 dozen in seven days, which, counting Teal and Wigeon as 

 half birds, probably represented 3,000 fowl. The pool was about an acre 

 in extent, with three pipes, and was surrounded by 10 acres of rough land, 

 the surrounding fen being then uncultivated. Coles states that during 

 the last years of its existence very few fowl were taken in this Decoy, for 



