DUG 
DUG 
ot fome finiilar allurement which will float on the 
furface, at the entrance of the pipe, and along it's 
extent, he whiftles to his Decoy-Ducks, which in- 
ftantly obeying the fummons, approach, in expec- 
tation of being fed as ufual ; whither alfo they are 
followed by a whole flock of the wild ones, un- 
fufpicious of their meditated ruin. However, their 
fenfe of fmeiling being extremely acute, they would 
fpeedily difcover the ambufcade, did not the fow- 
ler hold a piece of burning turf to his nofe, againfl: 
which he conftantly breathes, and thereby prevents 
the effluvia of his perfon from afi^efting their very 
exquifite fenfes. The Wild Ducks, therefore, in 
purfuing the decoy ones, are condufted by them 
into the broad mouth of the pipe, without the fmall- 
eft fufpicion of danger, the fowler being ftill hid 
behind one of the hedges : neverthelefs, when they 
have proceeded a fliort way up the pipe, and per- 
ceive it to grow narrower, they begin to appre- 
hend danger, and endeavour to return ; but in this 
attempt they are prevented by the fowler, who now 
makes his appearance at the broad end below, 
irhus furprized, intimidated, and utterly unable 
to rife becaufe of the furrounding net, the only re- 
maining way of efcape feems to be through the 
narrov^'-funnelled net at the bottom; into which 
they fly, and are inftantly taken. 
It frequently happens, however, that the wild 
fowl will not follow the Decoy-Ducks ; and, on 
fuch occafions, a little dog, regularly bred to the 
bufinefs, is employed in running backwards and 
forwards between the reed-hedges, in which there 
arc apertures fuited both to the vifion of the fowler 
and the paflage of the animal. This circumftance 
attrafls the notice of the wildfowl ; which, prompt- 
ed by curiofitv, advance towards the dog, who con- 
tinues playing among the reeds, but ftill nearer 
and nearer to the funnel, till he has allured the 
Ducks too far for recelTion. 
It fometimes alfo comes to pafs, that the dog 
does not attrafl the attention of the fowls till a red 
handkerchief, or fome other thing very fmgular 
and fhewy in itfelf, is tied round him: nor do the 
Decoy-Ducks ever enter the funnel-net with the 
reft, being trained to dive under water as foon as 
their companions are entrapped. 
The general fealbn for catching v/ild fowl in de- 
coys is from the latter end of October till Febru- 
ary; and, by an aft of George II. a penalty of I'ive 
fhillings is incurred for every fuch bird caught' at 
at any other period. Decoys, in Lincolnfhire, 
are ufually let at a certain annual rent, from five 
to thirty pounds a year: thefe principally fupply 
the London markets with wild fowl ; and upwards 
of thirty thoufand Ducks, widgeon, and teal, are 
faid to have been fent up, in the courfe of one fea- 
fon, from ten decoys in the vicinity of Wainfleet. 
To the above account of the method of catching 
wild fowl in England, it may not be unentertaining; 
to fubjoin another ftill more extraordinary one fre- 
quently praftifed in China. Whenever the fowler 
efpies a number of Ducks fettled in the Vv'ater, he 
puts off two or three gourds from the land, that 
they may float among them; which being exca- 
vated, always fwim on the furface. The fowls, at 
the firft, appear to be fomewhat fhy in approaching 
them ; but as the moft terrific objefts, when con- 
ftantly prefented to the view, gradually become 
more and more familiar, fo the Ducks at length 
gather round the gourds, and amufe themfelves 
with whetting their bills againft them. The fowl- 
er now hollows out one of thefe gourds fufficiently 
large for the admiflion of his head; and, after mak- 
ing perforations in it proper for breathing and fee- 
ing through, he places it on his head. Thus ac- 
coutred, he wades flowly into the water, fuffering 
nothing but the gourd to be perceived above the 
furface; and in that pofture he moves impercepti- 
bly towards the Ducks, which appear unfufpicious 
of the fmalleft danger. At laft, however, getting 
into the middle of the flock, he feizes one of them 
by the legs, draws it inftantly under the water, and 
faftens it under his girdle ; from whence he proceeds 
to a fecond, a third, and fo on, till he has loaded 
himfelf with as many as he can carry away. When 
he has thus obtained the defired quantity, without 
either difturbing the reft of the fowls, or the pool 
itfelf, he moves flowly off^ again; and in this man- 
ner fometimes vifits the flock thrice in one day. 
Duck, Eider; the anas molifllma of Linnseus. 
Thefe very profitable Ducks are found in the He- 
brides; but more particularly in Norway,Tceland, 
and Greenland, from whence vaft quantities of 
their foft feathers, known by the name of Eider 
down, are annually imported into Great Britain; 
their remarkably light, elaftic, and warm qualities, 
rendering them a highly-efteemed ftuffing for co- 
verlets, efpecially by thofe whom age or infirmities 
have too much enfeebled to fupport the weight of 
common blankets. 
The Eider Duck is double the fize of the. com- 
mon one. The bill is black; the feathers of the 
forehead and cheeks, by advancing far into the 
bafe, form two very acute angles ; the forehead is 
of a deep velvet black colour; from the bill to the 
hind part of the head, runs a broad black bar, paf- 
fing acrofs the eyes on each fide ; and on the hind 
part of the neck, juft beneath the extremity of this 
bar, there is a broad pea-green mark which has 
the appearance of a ftain. The crown of the head, 
the cheeks, the neck, the back, the fcapulars, and 
the coverts of the wings, are white; the inferior 
part of the breaft, the belly, the tail, and the quill- 
feathers, are black; and the legs have a greenilh. 
caft. The female is of a reddifta brown colour 
barred tranfverfely with black, except on the head 
and the upper part of the neck, where fhe is marked 
v/ith duflcy ftreaks pointing downwards. The pri- 
mary feathers are black ; the laft or greater row of 
coverts of the wings, as well as the lefl"er row of 
quill-feathers, are tipped with white; the tail is 
duflcy; and the belly is a deep bro^ynJ marked ob- 
fcurely with black. 
The Eider Duck builds her neft among the 
rocks or plants which cover the fea-fhore, where 
flie lays from fix to eight eggs. There is nothing 
very Angular in the external materials of her habi- 
tation; but the internal lining, on which flie depo- 
fits her eggs, is tlie warmeft, Ibfteft, as well as 
lighteft, that can pofllbly be conceived: this inner 
covering is no other than the down produced from 
the breaft of the bird herfelf in the breeding fea- 
fon, which flie plucks oflT with her bill, and thus 
furnifhes her neft with a more curious texture than 
the united art of man is capable of producing. 
The natives of thele gelid regions exert their 
utmoft induftry in difcovering the neft of this aqua- 
tic fowl ; and, after fuffering her to lay, rob her 
both of her eggs and materials. Not difcouraged 
by this firft difappointment, the Duck builds ano- 
ther habitation, in which fhe depofits frefli eggs; 
and this fecond manfion, together with it's valued 
furniture, is alfo removed by the inhabitants. She 
ventures, however, to build a third time; but then 
3 T the 
