LITERATURE AND HISTORY 



has nothing to say upon the question, anglers are con- 

 vinced that there is a basis of fact for the belief. 



Says Dixie Carroll, the well-known author, in "Lake 

 and Stream Game Fishing": "About the middle of 

 August the musky loses his teeth and his mouth is in 

 such shape that it takes something mighty aggravating 

 to arouse enough anger to make him forget his sore 

 molars and strike." Then, after taking a gentle slam 

 at those who do not agree with him, Dixie continues: 

 "September tenth of last season I examined three 

 musky caught on that day, and in the mouth of each 

 was a new set of sharp-edged teeth, firmly set, while, 

 hanging loosely in the back, were still the remains of 

 the old teeth, which had not entirely parted company 

 with their owners." In the face of such testimony 

 there is nothing to say, though I beg the reader to 

 remember that in lower forms of life rudimentary 

 teeth are common. In the rattlesnake, for instance, 

 the zoologist finds, lying back of the fang in use, a 

 second as perfect, and back of the second a third not 

 quite perfect, and back of that another less perfect, 

 and so on. In case a rattler loses his fang through 

 accident, a second is ready to take its place. The 

 whole matter of "sore-teeth days" will not be settled 

 until ichthyologists leave the laboratories and take to 

 the woods and waters for study. The United States 

 Fish Commission knows nothing about the "sore- 

 teeth" period. Here a man is permitted to believe as 

 he chooses, only this I am sure of: August is a poor 

 month for muskellunge fishing. 



Scientifically speaking, the oldest of our American 

 pikes, the eastern and western pickerel, both described 

 by Le Sueur in 1818, is one hundred years; a very brief 



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