HISTORY OF DECOYS. 97 



when Skelton began to cultivate the land round it, about the year 1S43 or 

 1844, the birds deserted the spot. This was a few years before the 

 Middle Level Drainage was commenced. 



Mr. J. M. Heathcote, in his " Reminiscences of Fen and Mere " (pp. 

 48, 49), has given a brief notice of this Decoy, with a rough sketch of one 

 of the pipes. 



The Decoy was on property belonging to Captain Wells. 



T. G. Skelton, who remembers this Decoy well, informs me he 

 recollects his uncle Richard taking 30 dozen birds here each day on three 

 consecutive days. Nor are these large takes at all unlikely, considering 

 the nature of the surrounding country, which in those times abounded in 

 large meres, and fens. 



Whittlesey Mere was drained in 1852, and the Decoy about the same 

 date given up. This large mere was 3 miles long and a mile wide. It was 

 the resort of eight fowlers, who regularly attended it, to shoot wildfowl 

 during the winter, and to cut reeds and catch fish in the summer. Three 

 of these men are at this date (1885) now living. They shot the fowl from 

 small shallow boats, using flint guns 8 ft. 6 in. long, some of which are still 

 to be seen in the district. 



Decoys in the County of Hertford. 



Decoys tn use. Decoys not in use. 



The Hoo. I None. 



At The Hoo, near Welwyn, 8 miles WNW. of Hertford, is a small 

 trap Decoy belonging to Lord Dacre, and used only to supply household 

 wants. The one cage that is attached to the pool is 30 ft. long, 1 2 ft. 

 wide, and 9 ft. high, and is covered with wire netting. When the fowl 

 swim up the ditch under the cage they are entrapped by means of a falling 

 door, worked by a wire from a distance, as is the case at Hardwick (which 

 see), and other trap Decoys. The Decoy was constructed in 1870, and 

 the takes are but a few dozen fowl in the season, as they are required from 

 time to time for the table of the owner. 



