26 THE PIKE 



That it is a cannibal is also unquestionable. It is 

 quite a common occurrence to catch a pike that bears 

 the marks of seizure and excoriation from a bigger 

 member of the family; and there are well-known 

 instances of two pike being discovered, the one'with 

 its head jammed down the throat of the other, and 

 both suffocated. This determined voracity renders 

 the pike a most undesirable tenant of waters that 

 are inhabited by a superior class of fish ; but this 

 subject is treated in a subsequent chapter by a writer 

 who has had long experience in the matter. 



It is a question, however, whether the sporting 

 qualities of the fish do not entitle it to more con- 

 sideration than is given to it, and it is deserving 

 of consideration whether it would not be wise to 

 cultivate certain rivers and lakes as pike preserves. 

 The fish is very prolific. March and April are the 

 usual spawning times ; as the season approaches pairs 

 of pike seek the ditches which discharge into the 

 river, and will work long distances up or down the 

 main stream in search of suitable tributaries. The 

 male is generally smaller than the female, and the 

 eggs, which are exceedingly small, are dropped among 

 the weeds and leaves of aquatic plants, to which 

 they adhere. The statement that the female turns 

 round and devours the male after spawning may be 



