124 J. E. IITTLEBOY — THE BULBORXE AND GADE, 



probable that the two now exhibited may have dcscendecl from 

 them. In both the Grove and Cassiobury Parks the trout of the 

 Gade are again carefully preserved. At the Swiss Cottage they 

 are abundant, and to lovers of Natural History, the ddight of 

 watching them, with their beautifully spotted sides, as they dart 

 with the rapidity of an arrow through the clear waters of the 

 Gade, constitutes at all times an absorbing object of interest, even 

 among the many attractions of that charming retreat. I am 

 inclined to think that it is impossible to observe the habits and 

 movements of the trout more advantageously than may be done 

 during a rise of the May-fly in this portion of the Gade. The 

 May-fly supplies to the trout the most attractive of baits, and as it 

 floats along the surface of the water, after commencing its short- 

 lived existence, it is sucked under with the utmost avidity by these 

 greedy creatures. 



Before I bid adieu to the trout I will venture to relate an occur- 

 rence of which I was an eye-witness. A friend of mine residing 

 at High Wycombe succeeded in taming a fine trout. He was 

 constantly in the habit of feeding it, and it became so tame that 

 whenever he made his appearance it would approach the bank. We 

 thought that we would test its capacity, and Ave therefore supplied 

 it with a constant succession of medium-sized frogs. It did not 

 allow them a moment's respite ; the instant they touched the water, 

 there was a huge plunge and they were gone. In this manner 

 twelve were devoured without the smallest hesitation ; the thir- 

 teenth was played with for a few minutes, but eventually de- 

 molished. It was necessary to draw the line somewhere,' and the 

 fourteenth was allowed to reach the bank in safety. 



The Pike {Esox Lucius). — The pike or jack is the largest of fresh- 

 water fish. It is abundant in every stream, and is so universally 

 known and easily recognised that I need not detain you by 

 describing its appearance. It is an extremely voracious fish, 

 greedily devouring, when hungry, almost anything or everything 

 that comes within its reach. It has frequently been termed — it 

 seems to me very appropriately — the " fresh- water shark." Schiller, 

 in one of the most beautiful of his ballads, has described the shark as 



" The hyccna of Ocean," 



and I think my hearers will allow that the pike is a fitting repre- 

 sentative of its prototype. 



Two years ago a gentleman at Hunton Bridge succeeded in 

 landing a pike that weighed 11 lbs. On being opened by the 

 cook it was fovmd to contain a moderate-sized water-rat, which 

 had been swallowed whole, and, except that it was dead, it had 

 suffered but little in appearance from its fatal adventure. On 

 another occasion a pike was captured, in the stream that divides 

 our garden, with a second pike only a little smaller than itself in 

 its mouth. It was quite unable either to swallow or disgorge its 

 victim, and when taken out of the water was as nearly dead as 

 possible. 



