E S 



root, and flower beautifully in the summer. They 

 may be propagated by cuttings. The seeds of E. 

 corallodcndrum are called Caffrarian peas by Barrow, 

 probably from their being eaten as such 'by these 

 people. The seeds of E. Abyssinica are said by Bruce 

 to be called karat in Abyssinia, and there used as 

 weights for gold, whence it is presumed we have our 

 word carat. 



ESOX The pike. A genus of soft-finned fishes, 

 with abdominal fins, in which the edge of the upper 

 jaw is formed by the intermaxillary bones, or where 

 it is not completely so formed, the maxillary bone 

 is without teeth and concealed in the thickness 

 of the lips ; generally speaking, the fishes which 

 compose this genus, or rather family, are voracious ; 

 but the three divisions of which it is made up are 

 very unlike each other in most of their characters. 

 These divisions are : Esox, the pike, properly so 

 called ; Belonc, the gar-fish, and E.mcetus, the flying 

 fish, which last we shall notice under their English 

 names, only remarking further here, that the pikes 

 are inhabitants of the fresh waters ; the other two 

 divisions inhabit the salt ; and the flying fishes, as their 

 name imports, can make their way through the air 

 for a short distance. 



Pikes, properly so called, have small intermaxillary 

 bones furnished with little pointed teeth in the middle 

 of the upper jaw ; the vomer, the palatal bones, the 

 tongue, the pharynx, and even the rays of the gills, are 

 set with teeth ; and in the sides of the lower jaw there 

 are large ragged teeth, which, in a fish of large size, 

 are scarcely less than the canines of a small dog. 

 No fresh water fish bites so powerfully as the pike, 

 and hence it is looked upon as one which is peculiarly 

 destructive to other fishes, though its own flesh is in 

 considerable esteem for the table. The flesh is white 

 and firm, but rather dry : there are three species, two 

 of which have been found only or chiefly in the fresh 

 waters of North America, One of these,E.reticularis, 

 is marked all over with a net-work of brownish lines ; 

 and the other, E. estor, is sprinkled over with round 

 blackish dots. The manners of these two species are 

 but little known. 



It is usually said that pike were unknown in the 

 English rivers previous to the time of Henry VIII., 

 and that when first introduced they were so rare, that 

 a single pike sold for double the price of a house 

 lamb. But there is little probability in this account, 

 inasmuch as the pike is very generally distributed, 

 not only through the cold and remote waters of the 

 northern parts of the British islands, which nobody 

 of course ever took the trouble of stocking with fish 

 of any sort, but they are also distributed through the 

 very coldest parts of Europe. Pike have been men- 

 tioned, as taken in Lapland, as much as eight feet in 

 length ; and in one of the slow running rivers of the 

 Scotch highlands, we believe the Glass, we have 

 heard of a six feet pike being taken ; in the richer part 

 of the country, they are not so large in size, but 

 whether this be owing to less favourable pasture, or 

 to more habitual fishing, has not been determined. 



The general aspect of the pike is repulsive. It is 

 a ragged, savage, and ugly looking fish, and a large 

 portion of the middle of its body being nearly of an 

 equal thickness, gives it a lumpy appearance. The 

 head is very flat, the eyes small, and the irides golden 

 yellow ; the upper jaw is broad but shorter than 

 the lower one, and the lower one turns upward at the 

 point, where it is marked by minute punctures. The 



O X. 44b 



teeth, as already mentioned, are very numerous, and 

 are exceedingly sharp. The intermaxillary bones 

 also allow a vast opening to the mouth, so that the 

 pike can seize and swallow large prey. The body is 

 considerably elongated, the back broad, and almost 

 square when the fish is in good condition : at this 

 time also, the colours on the back and sides are very 

 fine, consisting of green mottled with bright yellow, 

 and the gills are of a very bright red, indicating a 

 vigorous degree of circulation. When the fish is 

 out of season, these colours fade, the green turns to 

 grey, and the gills are dull and darkish. The pectoral 

 fins are situated immediately behind the gill openings, 

 the ventral fins are about the middle of the body, and 

 the dorsal and anal are far back, near the tail, which 

 is very stout, with a broad and much forked fin. The 

 whole shape of the fish evinces that the posterior 

 part of the body is the grand impelling portion ; and 

 by this means the pike is enabled to rush straight 

 upon its prey. 



Those who treat of the manners of fishes record 

 many anecdotes of the uncommon voracity of the 

 pike. Dr. Plott says, " At lord Gower's canal, at 

 Trentham, a pike seized the head of swan, while feed- 

 ing under water, and gorged so much of it as killed 

 them both ; the servants observing the swan to remain 

 motionless, went in the boat, and found both swan and 

 pike dead." Gesner mentions a pike which seized 

 the lips of a mule while drinking in the Rhone, and 

 kept its hold so firmly that the mule carried it ashore. 

 In the year 1798, as two gentlemen were angling in 

 a pond, nearWarnham, in Sussex, a pike, of only about 

 seven pounds weight, seized a dog that was lapping 

 the water, and was fairly landed, holding on by the 

 dog ; so also in the Blackwater, near Youghall, a 

 yearling calf was seized by a pike, and succeeded in 

 landing him ; and there could be no greater proof of 

 his voracity than this attempt to swallow a calf, when 

 his stomach, upon being opened, was found to contain 

 a large perch and a water rat, both entire. 



The pike is indeed exceedingly voracious, and seems 

 to be almost destitute of fear, for it has been known 

 to contest for prey with the otter, which is an animal 

 of very powerful bite. Pike, when sufficiently sup- 

 plied with food, grow rapidly ; they live long, and 

 scarcely any foulness of the water will injure them ; 

 they often attain a very large size. In some of the 

 Irish rivers, especially the Shannon, and the large 

 lakes through which it passes, pike seventy pounds in 

 weight, have sometimes been caught ; and there are 

 accounts of others of very large dimensions taken by 

 trolling. One of the largest caught in this way was 

 taken by colonel Thornton, in Scotland, in the year 

 1784. This fish was four feet nine inches long and 

 eleven inches and a half deep in the body, and weighed 

 within two ounces of fifty pounds. The colonel had 

 him upon the line for an hour and a quarter before his 

 strength was exhausted, and the tackle would not 

 have held him if the colonel had not been in a boat, 

 and thereby enabled to humour him by rowing. 



The pike are fond of dull, shady, and unfrequented 

 waters ; but prefer a hard bottom to one covered 

 with mud. In summer they are found among the 

 aquatic plants near the shore of the pools ; but in 

 winter they retire into the depths, and hide them- 

 selves, if possible, under some projecting stone or 

 irregularity at the bottom. Their spawning time is 

 in March or April ; a little sooner or later, according 

 to the place and the season. For this purpose they 



