CHAPTER y. 



THE PIKE FAMILY — ESOCID^. 



Remarks on the Pike Family. Mascalonge pictured by Cuvier. — Eu- 

 ropean species. — American species. — The Garfish ; manner of taking 

 it. — Dr. Bethune's remarks on Pikes. — Their introduction into Eng- 

 land. — Pliny's Pike. — Gesner's Pike. 



The Great Lake Pickerel. Esox lucioides. — Trolling from a boat for 

 Pickerel. 



The Mascalonge. Esox estor. — Angling for Mascalonge. 



The Pond Pike, Esox reticulatus. — Pike-fishing. — Trolling for Pike -with 

 the gorge-hook. — Pike-fishing in Eastern Virginia. 



The Great Blue Pike. 



The Little Pike of Long Island. 



The Streaked Pike or the Ohio. — Story told about a Pike taken in the 

 Kanawha. 



In Cuvier and Valenciennes' great work, the only fish of 

 this familj I find pictured is our Mascalonge, Bsox estor. 

 The figure is incorrectly colored, and in its markings re- 

 sembles the Great Northern Pickerel, Usox lucioides, rather 

 than the fish it is intended to represent. There are but few 

 species of Pikes found in Europe. Mox lucius, which is 

 common both to England and the Continent, is a handsome 

 fish and grows to a large size. 



I think it quite likely that there are American species of 

 this family which have not yet been described. De Kay, 

 Bichardson, and Holbrook, jointly, do not mention more than 

 six or seven. Besides the Mascalonge and Great Northern 



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