THE PIKE. 239 



tain themselves be incapable of holding them ; more than one 

 hundred and forty eight thousand eggs having been counted in one 

 female of moderate size. The spawning time commences with 

 some as early as the middle of February, whilst others delay cast- 

 ing their spawn till May. The young ones are the first to com- 

 mence, and the old ones to finish. During the spawning season 

 some degree of attachment seems to exist between the two sexes, 

 and instances have occurred where a female having been -wired 

 whilst in the act of spawning (an infamous mode of proceeding to 

 which the disorderly among the lower classes are much addicted) 

 the male would not be driven from the spot from which his mate 

 had disappeared. In Germany there is a very proper regulation 

 by which persons are rendered liable to punishment for taking 

 pikes when they are depositing their eggs a proceeding that no- 

 thing can excuse, unless where it is desirable to exterminate the 

 race altogether, in order to preserve some more favorite kind of 

 fish. 



In the first year the young pikes, or rather jack as they are 

 termed till they arrive at the weight of four pounds, have a green- 

 ish cast over their scales, which assume a greyer tint with pale 

 spots as the fish increases in age. During the winter and early 

 part of the spring these spots assume a golden cast, and the grey 

 colour is changed to an olive green ; at such times the fish is in 

 highest season and presents the most beautiful appearance. The 

 pike, like the grayling, is strictly a winter fish, being in best con- 

 dition from October to February, and, unlike the trout, is always 

 in best order when full of roe. But the roe itself is considered 

 unwholesome, causing sickness attended with violent purging ; and 

 in some places it is said to be used as a cathartic.* A pike is 

 sometimes seen of a beautiful golden cast with black spots, when 

 he is called the king of the pikes ; but the only difference between 

 this and other pikes is in the colour ; nor does it appear that there 

 are any varieties of the species to be met with, either in our own 

 country or in the waters of the European continent. In the fresh 

 waters of North America it seems there are two species, both 

 differing from the pikes of Europe one with brownish lines upon 

 the flanks, the other sprinkled with brown and blackish spots. 



Griffith's Sup. to Cuv., Vol, 10, p. 164. 



