614 MR. T. SOUTHWELL ON EARLY DUTCH AND ENGLISH DECOYS. 
name to our wild-fowlers, or whether it merely refers to the 
colour of the plumage, possibly the former. The inter-breeding 
of the pintail and the domestic duck although well known and 
not of rare occurrence is particularly interesting, for the early 
mention and the extent to which it was here carried. 
On the 5th of June he was at the Hague, and “ in the morn- 
ing went to see some coys, whereof here are abundance. Six 
in my view : two whereof I saw, the former rented for two 
hundred and fifty gilders, the other for two hundred and twenty- 
five gilders a year. Six here are within half a Dutch mile. 
They had both three pipes in one end and one in the other ; two 
hundred flying smeaths belong to one coy, abundance of pell-starts, 
and thirty pell-starts in one huck [hutch ?] These coys near the 
highways, mighty high trees grow in both of them, so full of 
covert within the huck and without, as all ground, reed seatings 
and all, covered with wood. Here a coy-duck brings up chickens 
[ducklings ?] ; wood covered dome pipes so thick, as there is no 
net. Sometimes take two hundred in a day ; sell them at 
Christmas for one shilling a duck ; at other times sometimes 
sixpence, sevenpence, and eightpence, and ninepence, as in season. 
Trees herein as high as birches ; their ducks, smeaths, and pell- 
starts exceeding tame.” 
The mode of travelling in Holland by land was by “ waggon ” 
or on the canals by “ scute,” and by the former conveyance he 
states that “upon Saturday, 7th of June, we went to John’s 
fathers,” the said John being his decoyman, a Dutchman whom 
he brought with him from England. “ We went about six 
o’clock, and came to Allifein about half nine, which is nine 
English miles [from Leyden] . . . before ten hours we came 
to John’s father, and went with him to his coy, wherein wood 
excellently grown. . . . The largest and neatest coy-house 
I have seen, lofted overhead to lay corn or hemp-seed, the pipes 
so straight, bending so little before you ; four pipes only till 
last winter, two in either end : one more, added last winter of 
no use : here, by help of a windmill they can drown all the 
ground round about the coy.” Then follows a description of 
the mill, the construction of which meets with Sir William’s 
approval. 
This is the last decoy they visited in Holland. His visit to 
