158 



PIKE, 



that age, that it was usual to cut open the belly of this fish 

 to the extent of two or three inches, in the same manner as 

 we have noticed of the Carp, in order to display to the 

 purchaser its well-fed condition; and in this state it was pre- 

 served alive in the market, to be restored to its native element 

 if a sale were not effected. It was under these circumstances 

 of its being thus returned that the Tench was supposed to act 

 as the physician, and by licking the wound to cause it to heal 

 speedily. So lately as the time of Willoughby and Ray we 

 are told that captive Pikes were kept in coops or wooden 

 frames afloat in the river at Cambridge, in order to be fattened 

 and in constant readiness for the market; and the price of one 

 that was full grown, and thus in good condition, might amount 

 to twenty shillings, although a Pike of smaller size would be 

 sold for as many pence. I possess a memorandum of a Pike 

 which, in March, 1752, was caught in Devonshire, in what the 

 writer calls Slatton Pool, and which may be supposed the lake 

 termed by Montagu, Slapton Ley; the length of which fish 

 was two feet and nine inches, the weight nineteen pounds, and 

 for which the price demanded was three crowns and a half. 

 Three shillings Avere offered for it and refused; but on the 

 following day it was sold for half a crown. But while the 

 flesh of this fish may be deemed wholesome, and by some a 

 delicacy, it has been said that the roe is dangerous food, and 

 by some it has even been pronounced poisonous. We can 

 readily believe that on some constitutions, and as an unusual 

 food, it may act with considerable violence; but Linnaeus, in 

 his travels (Lachesis Lapponica) in Lycksele Lapland, informs 

 us that it constitutes a part of the ordinary diet of the people 

 of that country; where "the spawn is dried, and afterwards 

 used as bread, dumplings, and what is called vailing — a sort 

 of gruel made by boiling flour or oatmeal in milk or water. 

 The livers are thrown away, being supposed to cause drowsiness, 

 and pain in the head, when eaten." The Pikes are dried by 

 these people to serve as an important part of their subsistence 

 in winter. 



We forbear to speak of the methods employed in fishing for 

 the Pike, since these may be found at sufficient length in books 

 devoted to the art, from Izaak Walton in his various editions 

 down to the latest date of such publications; which the gentle 



