PICKEREL. 169 
have had no scientific designation till named by Agassiz 
Esox Liccioides^ or on Long Island, Esox Fasciatus^ or 
on our principal inland waters, Esox JRetioulatus^ or in 
some of the lakes of the Eastern States, where a fish is 
caught, of which Dr. De Kay, in his " ]!^atural History 
of Kew York," doubts the existence, and which Dr. 
Mitchill has dubbed the Federation Pike, Esox Tredecem- 
radiatus. In truth, the distinction between the Mascal- 
longe and the Great [N'orthern Pickerel is scarcely visi- 
ble even to the eye of science, and to the nnlearned is 
marked only by a slight difi"erence in the shape of the 
head and the coloring of the sides. The light tint is yel- 
low in the pickerel and white in the mascallonge, while 
in the latter at times the sides have dark spots on a 
white ground instead of the dark network of the pick- 
erel. It has even been doubted whether these fish are 
not identical, and the differences of size and color pro- 
duced by local habits ; but the views of all practical fish- 
ermen lean the other way, and they can at once distin- 
guish the smallest mascallonge from the largest pickerel, 
although they are nnable to point out the precise dis- 
tinctive characteristics ; while scientific men do make 
out that there is a difference in the number of the fin- 
rays. For the latter, however, although I have given 
the most careful attention that could be exjDected from 
an amateur, my enumeration differs from that of all 
others as they differ among themselves. My computa- 
tion of the fin-rays gave — 
Dorsal 18 ; Pectoral 16 ; Yentral 11 ; Anal 17 ; Cau- 
dal 21. 
While according to Dr. Mitchill they were respectively, 
8 
