DEC 
to go up one of these pipes is, because the 
decoy ducks, trained to this, lead the way, 
either after liearing the whistle of the decoy- 
man, or enticed by the hemp seed ; the lat- 
ter will dive under water, whilst tlie wild- 
fowl fly on and are taken in the purse. It 
often happens, however, tliat the wild-fowl 
are in such a state of sleepiness and dozing, 
that they will not follow the decoy-ducks. 
Use is then generally made of a dog that is 
taught his lesson : he passes backwards and 
forwards between the reed screeits (in 
which are little holes, both for the decoy- 
man to see, and the little dog to pass 
through) ; this attracts the eye of the wild- 
fowl, who, not choosing to be interrupted, 
advance towards the small and contempti- 
ble animal, that they may drive him away. 
The dog all the time, by the direction of 
the decoy-man, plays among thd screens of 
reeds, nearer and nearer the purse-net ; till 
at last, perhaps, the decoy-man appears 
behind a screen, and the wild-fowl not dar- 
ing to pass by him in return, nor !)eing able 
to escape upwards on account of the net- 
covering, rush on into the purse-net. Some- 
times the dog will not attract their atten- 
tion if a red handkerchief, or something 
very singular, is not put about him. 
Decoy, in military affairs, a stratagem 
to carry off the enemy's horses in a foraging 
party, or from pasture. The woi’d is also 
used to denote a stratagem employed by a 
small ship of war to betray a vessel of infe- 
rior force into an incautious pureuit till she 
lias drawn her within the range of her can- 
non. It is usually performed by painting 
the stern and si^^es, in such a manner as to 
disguise the ship, and represent her either 
much smaller and of inferior force, or as a 
friend to the hostile vessel, which she endea- 
vours to ensnare by assuming the emblems 
and ornaments of the nation to which the 
stranger is supposed to belong. 
DECREE, in the civil law, is a deter- 
mination that the emperor pronounces upon 
hearing a particular cause between plaintiff 
and defendant. 
Decree is a sentence pronounced by 
the Lord Chancellor in the Court of Chan- 
cery, and it is equally binding upon the 
parties, as a judgment in a court of law. 
By the laws of England, a decree (not- 
withstanding any contempts thereof) shall 
not bipd the goods or moveables, but only- 
charge the person. If a decree be obtained 
and inrolled, so that the cause cannot be 
reheard, then there is no remedy but by 
bill of review, which must be on error ap- 
DEE 
pearing on the face of the decree, or on 
matters subsequent thereto, as a release or 
a receipt discovered since. 
Decrees of councils are the laws made, 
by them, to regulate the doctrine and policy 
of the church. 
DECREPITATION, in chemistry, a 
term applied to the crackling noise of salts 
exposed to heat, by which they are quickly 
split. It takes place in those salts that 
have little water of crystallization, the in- 
creased temperature converting that small 
quantity into vapour, by which the crystals 
are suddenly burst. Common salt affords a 
good example of decrepitation, and when 
used as a flux should be previously decrepi- 
tated. 
DECUMARIA, in botany, a genus of 
the Dodecandria Monogynia class and or- 
der. Natural order of Myrti. Essential 
character : calyx eight to twelve-leaved, 
superior ; petals eight to twelve ; capsule 
eight-celled, with many seeds. There is 
but one species, viz. D. barbara, climbing 
decumaria, a native of Carolina. 
DEDICATION, in matters of litera- 
ture, the inscribing a book, poem, play, or 
the like, to some person of distinction, serv- 
ing both as a protection to the piece, and a 
mark of the author’s respect for the person 
to whom he dedicates his work. 
DEED, is a written contract, sealed and 
delivered. It must be written before the 
sealing and delivery, otherwise it is no deed ; 
and after it is once fonnally executed by 
tlie parties, nothing can be added or inter- 
lined ; and therefore, if a deed be sealed 
and delivered with a blank left for the sum, 
wliich the obligee fills up aftej- sealing and 
delivei-y, this will make the deed void. A 
deed must be made by parties capable of 
contracting, and upon a good considera- 
tion ; and the subject matter must be le- 
gally and formally set out. The formal 
parts of a deed are, the premises, con- 
taining the number, names, additions, and 
titles of the parties. Tire covenants, which 
are clauses of agreement contained in the 
deed, whereby the contracting parties sti- 
pulate for the truth of certain facts, or bind 
themselves to the performance of some spe- 
cific acts. The conclusion, which mentions 
the execution and date of the deed, or the 
time of its being given or executed, either 
expressly or with reference to some day and 
year before mentioned. 
A deed is the most solemn act of law 
wliich a man can perform with respect to 
th* disposition of his property, and there- 
