1 86 THE BOOK OF DUCK DECOYS. 



Axholme " (an island formed by three rivers, the Trent on the east, the 

 Don on the north and west, and the Idle on the south), by the Rev. W. B. 

 Stonehouse, M.A., vi^ritten in 1839, p. 422, the author remarks : — 



" A small Decoy yet lingers on part of the common (parish of Crowle), 

 where wildfowl are occasionally taken, just sufficient to remind the modern 

 sportsman what a diversion the ancient fowler found in these extensive and 

 wild resorts of the feathered race." 



Before the drainage of the marsh lands adjacent to Thorne, at Hat- 

 field and Goole Moors, by Sir Cornelius Vermuyden, of drainage fame, 

 who having spent _^200,ooo in doing so, died in poverty at Crowtrees, 

 near Thorne, the district abounded in wildfowl of every description. It 

 was near here, at the mouth of the Trent, that the last Avocet's nest found 

 in England was discovered in 1840. Thorne Waste or moor lies 8 miles 

 south of the River Humber at Goole, and between the small towns of Crowle 

 and Thorne, and on the north side of the Stainforth and Keadby Canal. 



This waste is an extensive morass of about 6,000 acres, 500 of 

 which have been apportioned to Crowle; its depth averages 12 to 15 feet, 

 and in some places many more ; a fact attributable to the fine qualities 

 of the soil beneath. Below are the remains of an extensive forest, con- 

 sisting of oak, beech, birch, willow, and other trees, and which forest 

 evidently at one time covered an immense tract of ground in this part of 

 the country. Generally speaking, these trees are in a remarkable state 

 of preservation, and the wood is used for posts, rails, and laths. 

 The destruction of the forest will in a measure, no doubt, account 

 for the existence of the moor. Anyhow, its formation is an interesting 

 subject, and was probably aided by a subsidence of the land, for at the 

 depth at which these trees are found they could not by any possibility now 

 grow. In various parts of the moor, especially the central, are small lakes 

 or pools of water, upon the margin of which Wild Ducks and the Black- 

 headed Gull {Lartis rirdihindits) breed. Wild Geese also frequent the 

 moor, as do Plover and other birds. Several kinds, however, that formerly 

 made their appearance are not now to be seen. Amongst reptiles, the 

 adder or viper {Pelias berus), and the common snake {Matrix torquatd), are 

 to be noted. Dragon flies abound near the pools, and, on a still summer or 

 autumn evening, what are here called " midges " (the Ctilex reptans a very 

 small black gnat with transparent wings), are very troublesome, not so much 



