170 WITHIN AN HOUR OF LONDON TOWN. 



Fowling appears to have been practised by the 

 ancient Egyptians, judging from their sculptures 

 and paintings. In England it has been carried on 

 to a vast extent, from the earliest times, in the Fen 

 counties. Nets, snares, and springes have been em- 

 ployed for the capture of the wild-fowl. I do not 

 intend to enter fully into this matter, but will refer 

 our readers to an admirable and exhaustive work 

 on duck-decoys by that keen sportsman and nat- 

 uralist Sir Ralph Payne -Gallwey, author of * The 

 Fowler in Ireland.' Nothing could be better, so 

 far as information on that subject goes. As re- 

 gards the capture of wild-fowl by decoys and other 

 methods, from the earliest date up to the present 

 time, it stands unrivalled. 



By the way, the fowl that supply the London 

 market come principally from Holland^ the shores 

 of that country being very favourable to the hosts 

 that flock there for food and shelter. 



Until quite recently the capture of fowl by decoys 

 or nets has been kept a profound secret by all those 

 who have practised it for a living. I have known 

 the time when, if a stranger received a friendly hint 

 from some quarter or other that his company or 



